Once More To The Frontier
by PaulXion
Summary: A year after Ash had been proclaimed as master... a year after life in hell. With hatred building in his heart, how can one forgive and forget such hatred? Taking his life on a new lead, the boy settles in for a peaceful time in Kanto. Anabel and Ash hehe
1. Champion's Return

**Chapter 1: Champion's Return**

Ash ran through the forest of Kanto as he was out to deliver something for Professor Oak. He wasn't the kind of person who would deny a request coming his mother's friend who almost act like a father to him. His Pikachu was by his side always and it seemed like it was raining… hard.

"Come on Pikachu, we've got to find shelter and fast!" they rush into a dense area of trees and quickly hid themselves from the rain. "Phew that was a close one. We'll just wait here until the rain stops" he fluttered his jacket and Pikachu shook itself to get some of the water out of its body.

It has been a year since he became a Pokemon master and boy he was enjoying it until a few months ago. Every town he visited quickly recognized him as the newest and youngest Pokemon master in the world. Girls couldn't take their eyes off him and trainers couldn't help but challenge him into a battle. Some wanted to claim his title so badly that Ash's Pikachu had to beat almost fifty Pokemon trainers in a row and he was still on his first Pokemon.

Pallet town was also the center of attention to the world. They called the town, 'The Town of Masters' since twelve Pokemon trainers from that town were able to become Pokemon masters in just five years.

Ash wandered around the woods hoping to find some fruits along the trees but sadly there were none in sight. He and little Pikachu continued along the forest until they stumbled upon a place which was strangely familiar to him, "Hey Pikachu… does this place look familiar to you?"

"Pika pikachu" (Yeah… it is)

"I hope I didn't get us lost again"

Suddenly, he heard a buzzing sound coming from behind him. Ash slowly turned around and what he saw in front of him turned his face paler than a piece of paper.

A pack of Beedrills were gathering behind him angrily. Ash didn't know what he did to offend the Pokemon but whatever it is, he was regretting it already. "Pikachu… whatever you do. Don't look back" Pikachu looked confused but he couldn't resist looking at what his master was looking. Pikachu was shock.

"On the count of three… we run… ok?" Pikachu just nodded as his leg twitched a little, "Ok…… THREE RUN!!!" Pikachu was too shock to run so it just grabbed on to Ash's shoulders and hanged on for dear life. The Beedrills gave chase.

**(On the other side of the forest in a small house)**

Anabel was starring through her window as she petted her Espeon through her arms. It's been a week since she defeated the new Battle Frontier challenger that Scott was able to introduce. The boy wasn't able to beat her due to his lack of training and skill but he proved to be a good trainer. "I wonder what that kid will do to beat me?" she thought to herself. She was used in living alone in the forest because she was able to communicate with her Pokemon telepathically. She had all the friends she needed right here. "I'd better get to the Pokemart before it closes" she put down Espeon and quickly put on her raincoat. "Espeon, you take care of the place while I'm away ok?" she smiled and quickly locked the door before leaving.

**(Back with Ash)**

Ash and Pikachu panted heavily near a boulder. After being chased by Beedrills they were attacked by a herd of Tauros and after escaping from that they were nearly swallowed by a Gyrados. This series of unhealthy events was just the thing to get Ash's blood boiling again. "I hope professor Oak appreciates this. Cuz this is the last time I'm doing any delivery to him" after recuperating from exhaustion, Ash and Pikachu decided to continue making their way through the forest.

Just as they finally got out of that wicked place, they found themselves overlooking a small town. "Well, this is the place. Come on Pikachu let's get this delivery done" Ash slid down the hill and finally arrived at his destination. The only problem now was… where was the place he was looking for? "This is gonna take longer than I thought" (Pikachu…)

They both looked tirelessly around the town hoping to find the Pokemon lab that professor Oak told them about. He was able to give a brief description of the place but he didn't exactly know where it was located either.

"Umm excuse me sir, do you know where the Pokemon lab is?" he asked the nearby police officer for some hints, "Pokemon laboratory? Hmm… well the only in this town would be the Pokemon center"

The Pokemon center, why didn't he think of that? "Thanks officer! Come on Pikachu let's go!" the two of them quickly made their way to the Pokemon center in record time and as usual, Nurse Joy was there to greet them. "Hey Nurse Joy, I'm looking for someone named… (chit chat) Do you know him?" Joy smiled, "Oh you mean Professor (car horn honking) Yes he's here. I'm guessing that you're the person with the package?" Ash nodded and handed her a small plastic bag. Nurse Joy scanned the contents of the bag and smiled, "Well it looks like its all here. Thank you, I'll make sure it reaches him"

"Thanks Nurse Joy. Come on Pikachu, let's go back home"

Suddenly, a trainer screamed, "OMG (yes she said OMG not Oh my god but OMG) It's Ash Ketchum!"

"I think it's time we left" (Pikachu) before the screaming fans and trainers could even catch up to him, Ash quickly vanished out of town in a fraction of a second.

"Phew… that was a close one Pikachu but I guess we made it" (Pikachu!) "Hehehe… come on, let's go home and I promise ya you can eat as much ketchup as you want" (Pika!)

The duo quickly made their way towards the dirt path once again. The road around these parts of Kanto have not been traveled by wheels but by foot so no cars traverse through here for a long time. Ash whistled his favorite Pokemon theme song tune all the way until they encountered someone carrying two large plastic bags and wearing a wet raincoat. The rain had already stopped a few hours ago too. The person appeared to be a girl and she was listening to her portable music player. "Hmm… have I seen her before?" Ash thought that the girl looked awfully familiar but he digress.

Suddenly without any warning what so ever, the muddy hill began to collapse towards the girl. The rain must've weakened its hardened structure which allowed it finally fall. "Hey, look out!" Ash yelled out but the girl wasn't able to hear him. Without thinking, Ash quickly ran towards the girl so fast that it would make 'Extreme Speed' look like slow motion. He pushed the girl away and gladly took the force of nature head on. "ARRHHHH!!!!!" he screamed.

"Pikapi!" (Ash!)

The girl who was saved saw what happened and quickly jumped back see who saved her from her doom. "Hey, are you alright? Say something!" she shook Ash but there was no reply. Ash was unconscious but luckily it didn't look permanent. "Metagross, I choose you!" she summoned out Metagross, "Metagross, please help me with this boy" Metagross complied and carried Ash on its head.

The way back to town was blocked by the mud slide so she no choice but to bring the boy backed into her house.

**(Time Skip 3 hours later Back at Anabel's house)**

Anabel returned with her groceries and one extra luggage along with a Pikachu. She couldn't recognize the boy do to the mud covering his face but looks didn't matter right now. She quickly got the first aid kit from one of the cabinets and clean the boy's opened wounds. The mud slide seemed to be much stronger than anyone would ever thought. The boy had practically broken most of his upper bones and his leg was left immobilized. "Espeon, I need your help on this one"

After a few hours of patching the boy up, Pikachu sat nearby watching nervously. By this time he would do an electric shock if Ash ever fell unconscious but he knew that it would only make things worst. After getting the leg patched up, Anabel moved on to the torso. She tore off his shirt and jacket and began bandaging the opened wounds. She looked at the boy's figure and surprisingly, he was more masculine than one would think. The kid had muscles growing but not enough to make him look buffy which was quite alright for her.

The day went long past when the moon finally rose. Anabel finally finished patching up the boy. She was supposed to be making dinner right about now but she was too tired. Instead she just picked up her cell phone and ordered up some pizza.

She sat on the couch and sighed again. This has just been one crazy day for her. If that boy didn't push her a few seconds earlier she'd be the one on that bed. "Who is this boy? And why does he look so familiar?" having curiosity take over, Anabel flipped the boy's hat off and wiped the mud off of his face. After a good look at the boy, she nearly fainted of shock. "ASH?!!" she remembered the boy in an instant. This was one of the challengers who were now in the hall of fame whom she battled a few years ago.

After realizing who had just saved her she immediately called the Pokemon facility but sadly the phone signal was cut off due to the storm interference. "Well this isn't good" she complained to herself and of course she had a good reason to be. A rock slide nearly killed her and now a Pokemon Master shows up and saved her. Now she's got that person in her house and on her bed. If the media knew about this then she'd be a on the first page of tomorrows news paper.

Just when things couldn't get any worst, a knock came through the door. "That had better be pizza and they had better put pepperoni in it!" she thought. But when she opened the door she saw one person she didn't expect until next week, "Scott?" she said quietly. The big Hawaiian dressed man brought out a peace sign, "Hi there Anabel. Sorry to disturb you at this time but our challenger is ready for a rematch now" he said with a smile. "Oh but I thought he wasn't gonna come back till next week"

"The kid had a change of mind. He trained real hard today and is waiting for you at the Battle Tower. If you're not ready, I can tell him to come back tomorrow"

"Yes, please do that. I promise I'll be there tomorrow" suddenly, a crash came from her kitchen which caught both their attentions.

"Is someone there with you?" Scott asked with a little suspicious tone.

Anabel blushed slightly but waved it off, "Oh no of course not! Hehehehe! It's probably just one of my Pokemon messing around ahehehe Well thanks for visiting and I'll be sure to make it there tomorrow early Bye!" she showed Scott the way out and closed the door behind him. This just built more curiosity in Scott's head. His brows sharpened with suspicions, "Hmmm… very suspicious" he muttered before going back to his car.

Anabel saw the red corvette drive off by her window and sighed. "That was a close one" she immediately head off to her kitchen and saw Pikachu struggling to take a bucket off its head. Anabel pulled it off and Pikachu gasped for air. "Yup… you're his Pikachu alright" she moaned out. Pikachu quickly recognized the girl and smiled back, "It's good to see you too Pikachu" she scratched the little yellow mouse behind the air where it loved so much. "And don't worry about Ash. He should be up soon. Just let him rest for now and hopefully I'll be able to call the hospital"

Right after the pizza came everything didn't go very well. At first Anabel's Pokemon began arguing who gets the bigger slice and since Pikachu was included they had to share even more. Right when that argument was settled Espeon stole Alakazam's last slice and soon began a wild goose chase around the house. With all the commotions hanging about, Pikachu helped himself with the remains of the pizza which caused even more havoc as it is. By the time Anabel got all of them back into their Pokeballs she was practically exhausted. "Maybe next time I'll order one plate for each of them" she sighed.

Without much thinking, Anabel quickly showered and put on her purple PJs. She closed the lights and went to her king size bed not knowing that she had someone else on the bed.


	2. Suspicions

**Chapter 2: Suspicions**

By the time the alarm clock went off, Anabel smashed it with her pillow and quickly went back to sleep. She was snuggling more comfortable than usual. She just realized that there was a giant pillow right beside her that she didn't know about.

Ash was also in the same mood. He never realized that a pillow could be so comforting before. _"Man this pillow is great"_ he thought.

The two of them were actually hugging each other on one bed. Their faces were so close to each other that could almost feel each other's breath. Their eyes were closed because they weren't ready to greet the sun light just yet. They snuggled closer and closer having bodily contact. Everything was going smoothly until, "Pikapi?" Ash and Anabel quickly remembered that sound and woke up. Their eyes made contact but they didn't flinch. Anabel glared at Ash's deep dark eyes that almost felt like black holes. Her soul was sucked up and before she knew it she was already paralyzed.

By the time both of them got to their senses they yelled, "AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" so loud that the wild Pokemon around the forest ran from fright.

Ash: "You!!!!!"

Anabel: "You!!! What are you doing on my bed?!"

Ash: "I should be the one asking that question!"

After getting up from the shock, Ash felt a sudden pain coming from all parts of his body. His bones were so tattered that any sudden move would prove fatal for him and so his mind did what the only thing that would prove useful. It shuts down… which caused Ash to fall unconscious.

What in the world was she thinking? She was fifteen years old and she had nothing but her PJs and undergarments on. To be sleeping with a non related person was absolutely not in her category of good behavior. After remembering why and how the boy was here she sighed. "Scott's gonna kill me if he finds out" when you're a Frontier Brain member, relationship with others are a little sketchy which was fine at first since Anabel wanted to be single for life but now she was having second thoughts on that agreement.

Knock knock knock…

"Coming!" _'That had better be the dry cleans and it had better be good news!'_ the morning wasn't looking too bright for our little Frontier Brain member and now her day was just about to worsen.

She opened the door, "Oh hello Scott" she said slightly angry, "Hey Anabel, are you ready for the challenge yet?" the man said with a smile.

"Don't you think it's a bit early for a battle Scott?"

"Early for you. It's actually haft past noon if you remember"

Anabel looked at the clock and was immediately shocked. She had never woken up this late before in her life, "Oh I'm soooo sorry! I'll go and battle the challenger right away!"

"Well you might as well get change first. You're not exactly dressed for combat now are you?" Anabel took a minute to notice herself in her PJs. This was embarrassing. She blushed brightly and quickly slammed the door on Scott's face. This really wasn't her day. After getting change and a quick breakfast, she poured down a bowl of cereal and said to Pikachu, "If Ash wakes up, please tell him not to go anywhere until I return ok Pikachu?" the little yellow mouse nodded in agreement.

After getting dressed, Anabel walked out and locked the door, "Alright, I'm ready!" Scott looked at her with a brow raised, "Umm… Anabel, where are your Pokemon?" Anabel searched her pockets and belt and quickly realized that she left them in her room, "Oh! I forgot about them. Wait here, I'll be right back!" she quickly unlocked the door and stormed right back in with haste.

Scott grew more and more suspicious about the girl's actions but he didn't want intrude on her privacy. However… Anabel wasn't the kind of girl who would be this thoughtless. She WAS and IS a respectable member of the Frontier Brains and no one would dare to look down on her. Scott would usually see her gardening or training in her Battle Tower but now she was… how should I say this…… clumsy. She forgets her Pokeballs, waking up late, not reporting for work at the Battle Facility and more. This is was very unnerving for Scott since he is the owner of the Battle Frontier.

"Hmm… maybe I'll ask what's wrong after the challenge is done" he thought as Anabel came back with her Pokemon. "Are you ready now?" he asked annoyingly.

"Yes, I'm ready now hehehehe" and with that they head towards the Battle Tower where the Frontier challenger awaited them.

**(Back inside the house)**

Ash had woken up a few minutes after Anabel had left. He crawled on his aching stomach through the door and up a small chair. Every move he made felt like an eternity of pain but nothing would stop this boy from living. He was finally able to get up but his mind was still quite a blur. All of his memory was scrambled up like a large jigsaw puzzle with tons of missing pieces scattered along the floor.

He panted heavily on the chair like he was dying but luckily he was ok. "Pikapi" Pikachu jumped on his master's lap lightly so he wouldn't hurt him. Ash struggled to remember what he was doing this morning but nothing seemed to fit. It was until he saw a small picture frame hanging on the wall. It consisted of a group of people who seemed to be veteran Pokemon trainers but they looked oddly familiar.

"Hey… those are…" he then saw a Battle Frontier logo next to the picture frame, "I remember now!" he thought silently to himself, "Those are… the Frontier Brains!" everything began to sink back. He remembered the land slide, being Pokemon master, his adventures… everything! It was like a black hole spitting every thing it ate back out!

**(Time Skip 3 hours Still at Anabel's house)**

Anabel returned with Scott a few hours later after the challenger was defeated again. Scott had noticed many flaws in Anabel's battle today and was quite upset to say the lease. He had a good reason to be upset though. First, Anabel was becoming clumsy this morning. And when they got to the Battle Tower, she brought the wrong Pokemon to battle. She left her Metagross and Alakazam back at home while she brought her weaker ones to the fight. It was because of her Espeon that she was able to beat the challenger.

"Is something bothering you Anabel? You haven't been acting like yourself this morning" Scott sounded a little harsh but it was reasonable.

"I'm sorry Scott. It's just that… my day just hasn't been a perfect one since yesterday" she said in a depressing tone.

"Oh? What happened yesterday?" Anabel had to think quickly or risk getting exposed. She kept a cool, calm face when she answered, "There was a mud slide yesterday and I was nearly caught in it. I actually thought I was gonna die and by the time I got home I was breathing heavily.

Scott seemed relieved to hear her story and was even more relieved that she was ok, "That must've been one shocking event for you" he said with his smile back on his face, "It's good to see that you're ok. I'll tell the challenger to meet you when you calm down alright?"

CRASH

Something broke inside Anabel's house. Scott looked and realized that the lights were on, "Is someone inside?" he asked

Anabel quickly waved it off, "Oh It's probably one of my Pokemon loose. They sometimes do that when I'm not around. Well see ya bye!" she immediately closed the door and shut the curtains.

Scott's eyes sharpened with great suspicions, "Ok that does it. I'm coming back and see what's really going on!" with that he jumped onto his car and drove off. Anabel peeked through the window and sighed once again. "This is really not my day" she moaned annoyingly.

"Anabel?"

Her eyes quickly widened in surprise as she turned around. Ash was standing right in front of her. "Hi" he said with a smile. Anabel didn't know if she should shout or just plainly scream, "Hi…" was all she able to do.

"Umm… sorry about the mess. Pikachu found ketchup in your cabinet and he went a little wild ahehehe" he rub the back of his head in embarrassment. Pikachu came out of the kitchen with the sane bucket on its head.

After a quick explanation on both sides they finally came to a mutual understanding. "… and that's what happened" Anabel took a sip off her tea as she finished explaining what happened yesterday, "After that I brought you home and bandaged you"

Ash tried sinking in all the info into his small head but he was able to get the gist of the story, "Wow… I guess I should thank you Anabel"

She blushed slightly, "Oh not at all. You did save me from the mud slide. So it's the least I could do"

"So why didn't you call the hospital?"

"I tried but connections from the woods and the city isn't that good" she took a bite off a cookie she managed to prepare. "Wait here, I'll try again" she dialed through her cell phone but sadly… it ran out of battery, "Oh wonderful Give me a minute, I need to---" she was cut off when the whole house went out. The lights turned off and the air con stopped. "charge…" a black out couldn't have come in the worst possible moment. "Hold on, I'll try and find some candles" Ash noticed that she was acting more and more… well… clumsy. When he met her the first time, she was cool, calm and collected person. A girl who had the will power of a hundred trainers combined. But now she was like… a rookie who just got her starter Pokemon.

Ash quickly summoned out Cyndaquil and let the fires on its back illuminate the room, "Here, let me help" He quickly got up and grabbed several candle sticks from the cabinet. The fire from Cyndaquil's back really helped save matches. In moments they were able to light up seven candles that were enough to keep the house lit.

"Wow… what a rain" Ash took a look over the curtains and saw that it really was pouring from the sky. "You can sleep here tonight. I have a guess room at the back" Anabel showed him the way to a nice two bedded room that was almost twice the size of Ash's old bed room. "You can sleep here for tonight. Oh and sorry about your shirt. I had to rip it to patch you up" Ash blushed as he noticed that his inner black shirt and jacket were torn. The only thing covering his skin was a large number of white bandages. "Oh… uh that's ok. I have an extra pair in my bag. So I guess… uh… thanks"

Anabel turned a quick blush but she turned away so that he wouldn't see, "Umm… Dinner will be ready in ten minutes" she closed the door and left Ash at alone. She ran to the living room and held her hand against her chest. Her heart was beating at least three times faster than before. Her breathing became irregular as if she was suffocating. Her muscles tightened as if they were being squeezed by an enormous pressure and her face was as red as a tomato. "What's wrong with you Anabel?!" she screamed in her mind, "Calm down just relax and act like he was just an old friend. He'll be gone by tomorrow" she relaxed her mind and put herself at ease.

The advantage of being a telekinesis is that you can use the power of your mind to relieve whatever stress but this one was different. In all her life Anabel had used this method to keep her mind cool and calm but this stress seemed to be unnatural. It kept increasing and decreasing at the same time that it was difficult to calculate. After finally relieving some part of the head trauma out she quickly head to the kitchen and prepared dinner.

Since there was no power, she had to cook things the old fashion way, "Cyndaquil, can you come over her for a moment?" the young little fire Pokemon came as she requested, "Sorry Cyndaquil, but can you cook this pork over here?"

**(With Ash)**

After putting on his usual cloths (black T shirt and long pants but NO jacket) he quickly left the room with Pikachu on his shoulder and head towards the dining room. It felt strange to be a guess in a house in this kind of situation but it was ok… I guess.

Anabel placed some candles on the table to make it look like some sort of French dining taste. Dinner went a little uneventful. They talked about regular things like Pokemon training, battles and several random stuffs. After they finished their plates Anabel began with more… detailed questions. "So Ash, where's May?"

"Huh?" she was referring to May Maple of Petalburg city, "Oh you mean that May. Oh, she won the Hoenn and Johto cup last year. She's planning to move on to Shinou to win the contest festival there" he wiped his mouth with the handkerchief that was prepared for him.

"Oh? And how about your friends and family back in Pallet Town?" Anabel took a sip from her drink and smiled. Ash smiled back in return, "They're ok. My mom just got married to professor Oak a few months after I became master. Even thought my name should've been Ash Oak, they still call me Ash Ketchum" he blushed with a slight embarrassment.

"Yeah, I heard about that marriage too. But what about that girl? What was her name again? She was there when you were battling the Elite Four in Johto?" she tried recalling the name but Ash cut her off, "You mean Misty…"

"Yeah that's the one" Anabel could see the pain and sadness swelling up inside the boy. Every word he was going to speak about her seemed like another needle striking his heart, "Is something wrong Ash?"

"Huh? Oh nothing" only a pure idiotic idiot wouldn't see that he was lying. Something was wrong with the boy and whatever it was it had something to do with the girl in question, "So… what's with…" she was gonna say 'Misty' but she rather not, "…Pikachu!? Did he get bigger or what?"

"Yeah, Pikachu got a little bigger (Pika!) and stronger too. He and I have been through a lot in this journey and now I've completed my goals" he held out a small badge that was extremely rare to see. The Master Badge. It represented that he was indeed a Pokemon master and no one could say otherwise. Anabel slowly observe the badge and was quite fond of its beautiful colors. Seeing a Master was indeed rare and holding one would be nearly impossible. The small piece of accessory was so expensive that you could buy the whole Mt. Moon with it.

After she gave the badge back to its owner the power came back. "Oh, the power's back. I'll go and call the---" the power went out, "…hospital" it seemed like if she wanted to call, the power would go out. Perhaps she should take this as a sign or something. Ash giggled at this funny scene. "Well, I'm going to bed. I have a long way to go tomorrow" he quickly stood up from his chair and walked towards the guest room. Anabel sighed and agreed that sleeping wasn't such a bad idea. After a few minutes, they both changed into their PJs and went to sleep.

**(Time skip 1 hour still at the house)**

While Ash was snoring his way to dreamland Anabel was having the opposite effect. She found herself in a very uncomfortable position. She tossed and turned like she was looking for that comfortable pillow this morning. She then remembered that it was Ash, not a pillow. "I have to sleep or else I won't have the energy to fight tomorrow" she forcefully covered herself with the pillow and slept…… well…… if she could.

Just when she was already half asleep…

CRASH!

"What now!?" she yelled out. She immediately put on her fluffy sandals and head towards the kitchen where the crash originated from.

"Ash, is that you?" she flick open one of her portable flashlights and scanned the living room. There was no response. The air seemed colder than usual which frightened her a little bit. The cold chilling breeze made her shiver in her PJs and yet she felt hot at the same time. "Espeon, if that's you please tell me" there was a slight hint of fear in the tone of her voice. _"MMMMMMMMMMM"_ a strange sound came across from the kitchen. Anabel pointed her flashlight at the door way and saw it slightly opened.

A few minutes later, she remembered that there was another entrance into the house from the kitchen. "Wh…who are you Come out!" there still was no response. A few minutes later she heard some grumbling sound coming from the inside. Her heart beat rate increased, her sweat glance began acting up and her hands were shivering. She was so frightened that she dropped her flash light on the ground, "Oh crud!" she said.

The batteries flew out of the sockets and rolled down the carpet. Anabel managed to pick one up but when she reached for the other one… she noticed that it was next to a… foot? Her heart stopped. She slowly gazed up on who the foot belonged to. Since there was no light she couldn't see the man's face or figure. By the time she looked up, her eyes froze in terror. The man had blood spilling on his lips and a butcher knife on his hand. Anabel stumbled back. She desperately tried to scream but the voice escaped her. The man slowly approached with both his arms like he was gonna rape her. And so… Anabel did the only logical thing. She screamed.

The man got closer and closer… he touched her PJs which caused the light in Anabel's eyes to disappear. She was frightened and shock and paralyzed. The man really looked like he was gonna rape her here and now… until…

"HEY! You keep your hands off of her!"


	3. I'll Stay

**Chapter 3: I'll Stay**

Ash heard the scream and immediately came out with Pikachu. He saw Anabel and the intruder but the intruder didn't see him. "HEY! You keep your hands off of her!" the man still didn't notice him. The knife on his hand was more than enough proof that this man was a threat. "Alright then, Pikachu, Thunder Shock!" Pikachu charged up a current of more than 3000 volts of electricity and launched it at the intruder which sent him flying out the window. Ash quickly reach for Anabel who was still paralyzed. "Anabel, are you ok?" he never received a reply. Anabel quivered heavily as the light in her eyes slowly vanishes.

Ash really got angry and immediately gave chase, "Pikachu, stay here and keep an eye on Anabel. I'll go after him! Aipom, I choose you! (Pom pom!) Come on Aipom, we got a criminal to catch (Pom!)" Ash jumped through the window where the intruder was tossed out. The suspect didn't noticed Ash coming out so immediately took the opportunity for an attack, "You're not getting away that easily!" Ash saw the man jumping onto a car and slowly driving away. "Aipom, use thunder punch!" the monkey like Pokemon used its hand like tail and whacked the door of the car. Once the crook noticed the attack, he stepped on the gas and drove off. "Hey come back h---!" the sudden movement gave Ash a great pain on the ribs. He bones weren't fully healed yet and a jump from the window opened up several of his old wounds. "Argggghhh!" he moaned out before clutching his stomach. Aipom went to his master's side with its smile turned upside down. You could tell from its face that it was deeply worried about him, "It's ok Aipom, I'll be fine" Ash gazed at the crook's car as it vanishes in the distance then he turned back to Aipom, "Come on, let's go check on Anabel"

The moment he entered the house he saw Anabel still scared to death and paralyzed. "Anabel? Anabel!? Speak to me" Ash shook her but she didn't reply. At first he was afraid that she might have gone crazy but that really wasn't the case. She was a telekinesis after all. The moment she looked at Ash everything seemed to calm down. Her breathing rate returned to normal and Ash was relieved. Suddenly, everyone in the room was surprised on what the girl did. Anabel cried and hugged Ash. The two of them fell to the ground with a loud thud. Ash's bones felt the impact and were on the verge of breaking again. The poor girl was so frightened that she fell asleep.

Ash took up the last ounce of his strength and pulled himself together. He carried Anabel bridal style and took her back into her room. He sighed with relief after putting her in bed however… before he left Anabel's hands refused to remove itself from his arms. Ash tried to pull away but soon he realized that he'll need a crowbar to pry himself off of her. Just before he knew it, the sudden pain in his bones returned. He covered his mouth as he coughed heavily. By the time he revealed his hands it was already covered with blood but he was too sleepy to notice it.

After giving up any hope of Anabel releasing him he decided that it was best to just sleep along. Besides… it was a king size bed anyway.

Ash looked at her charming face as it slept comfortably on the pillow. He maybe still in his mid teens but no man could ever disapprove that Anabel had a great bodily shape. She had curves that could rival all of the Cerulean sensational sisters and the beauty that would make the lotus blush. Ash admired Anabel quietly in her mind over and over again but suddenly… his visions began to blur as the pain in his stomach slowly crept by. It felt like his bones were being crushed and repairing itself at the same time. A never ending cycle of pain would be the right words for it. With all the pain going around his body, Ash's brain did the only logical thing at a time like this. It shuts down.

**(The next morning)**

Anabel was slowly cuddling a soft fluffy pillow beside her. She felt so comfortable that she'd whack anyone (or anything) that disturbed her peace. Just as she was having the time of her life on that bed, the image of the man burst into her mind like wild fire. She got out of her bed and looked around. She grabbed the nearest object she could find (a vase) and prepared to use it as a mace. She scanned around the room she was in. She was in her bed room, "Where… am I?" several questions ran through her head like a marathon. She scanned her mind and slowly remembered everything, "I was about to sleep when… someone… came into the…" She shivered when the thought man touching her PJs. She looked at herself in the mirror and was relieved that nothing had happened. She believed it to be some sort of nightmare.

Brrrrrrrrrr… an annoying sound quivered in from the living room. It sounded like a vacuum cleaner.

Anabel quickly got out of bed and put on her fluffy sandals. The sound echoed through the house like a hive of Beedrills except this one was mechanical. By the time she got to the living room she was surprised to see Ash vacuuming the house and listening to HER music player. Wait a minute. Both those things he was using needed power but it was still black out. She then caught Pikachu sitting on the sofa with a smile on its face. By the time Ash saw Anabel starring at her he stumbled back a little shock with surprise, "Anabel, you're awake!" she smiled back but did not reply. In a reaction that surprised everyone, the Pokemon Master dropped the vacuum cleaner and hugged Anabel tightly in his arms. The Pokemon that were out giggled and smiled at the sweet reaction of the two humans.

After breaking off Anabel could see that the boy has been constantly worrying about her. "Hey, why don't you sit down? I made some toast while you asleep"

'toasts?' Ok now this was awkward. Ash, the greatest and youngest Pokemon Master in the world, the boy who was referred as the indomitable pillar of strength, the unbreakable shield of will power, the raging sun of determination and the clear crystal of kindness was now making toast for her. This really was an unusual sight for anyone. Anabel couldn't believe it as well. She was practically living the dreams of thousands of women out there in the world. She blushed at his face but after looking around the messy room she realized that the event that happened last night wasn't a dream after all.

The window that the intruder came through was shattered just as she remembered it.

By the time she collected herself, she began to ask if any of them really happened. Ash reassured her that it wasn't a dream and that a man really broke into the house. The strange thing was that the damage seemed to be lighter than both of them expected. They thought that there would be some valuables or money stolen but the only things unusual was some empty soda cans and a half eaten roast beef which Anabel had been saving up for movie night this coming Sunday.

"Here ya go" Anabel's train of thought were disrupted when a small plate of tasty looking toast came by. Ash poured down a cup of tea which he learned from Brock a long time ago. He said that it was an old family secret recipe and was only given to those he truly trusted. Anabel took a bite out of the toast and a sip of the tea. Her eyes widened as only one word popped up in her head, 'delicious' she then resumed.

Ash sat on the opposite side of the table having the same thing she was having and giving off his usual smile. Thought his cooking was acceptable, the boy's table manners was still something to be desired. Anabel didn't mind thought. She liked people who act just the way they are around her. Pikachu sat on the center of the table with a bottle of ketchup and a bowl of Pokechow. The little yellow mouse desperately tried to open the bottle but his paws denied entry. Ash noticed his little companions demise, "Here buddy, let me open that for you" Little did Ash know that Pikachu had been shaking the bottle for over ten minutes now, and by the time he opened it, all the ketchup flung right onto his face.

Anabel and Pikachu giggled at the funny scenery. Ash had ketchup all over his face and nose which made him look like a clown. "(giggle) Here, let me help you" she took one of her toasts and smudged some ketchup off of Ash's face. Then she ate it. Ash blushed a little but it was hard to see since with all the ketchup was blocking his cheeks. The two of them stared at each other for a good long time until…

Ding dong…

Someone was at the door, "Hello, dry cleaning service!" a man in a blue uniform with a Squirtle logo on the back shouted. He was carrying a basket full of folded clothes. Anabel rushed up to the front door but Ash stopped her, "Umm… why don't you go and change. I'll handle it" Anabel then realized that she was still in her PJs (again) and so she reluctantly agreed and let Ash take care of it.

Ash opened the door and smiled. The man in uniform was a bit surprised since he never saw anyone but Anabel in the house, "Oh, excuse me is Anabel here?" he asked.

"She's in the bathroom right now but I can take her dry cleanings for you"

The man hesitated at first but then he remembered that he had a lot of deliveries today, "Oh ok. Please tell her that the bill has already been paid through the Battle Tower" and with that the man left on his truck with a full load of clothes waiting to be delivered.

By the time Anabel finished changing into her regular clothes she decided that it was time to do her morning chores. First thing was to let the Pokemon out and feed them. She went to the back of the house and took out her Pokeballs but then… something wasn't right. Her Pokemon were already out and they were already eating. "That's weird, I didn't bring them out yesterday" she decided to skip her first chore and went on to the next one. Second, take out the trash. She walked into the kitchen and searched the waste basket but then to her surprise they were already gone. She looked up and noticed that the kitchen was all dusted up too. "Who…" and then it hit her, "Ash…"

Anabel immediately walked out to find the boy hanging towels and wet clothes onto the hanger to make them dry. "Ash!" the boy stopped what he was doing and turned around to find a really embarrassed Anabel, "Oh hey Anabel. I moved all your dry cleans into the basement and I gave all your Pokemon a bath. Oh yeah, that reminds me, I need to make lunch soon" he didn't even give time for her to speak before walking back into the house.

"Hold it!" Ash stopped, "Ash, have you been doing my chores?" the boy nodded in reply. "Yup! It's the least I could do since you save my life back then" Ash didn't know that the girl she saved back then during the mud slide was actually her. "I mean… I would've died if you didn't patch me up"

"You don't need to do that silly and…" she didn't finish her sentence

"And I thought you would still be shock of… of what happened last night" he lowered his head but kept his smile up. To tell the truth, Anabel still couldn't get over of what happened last night either. It all seemed just like a nightmare… a horrible nightmare. She shook the thought off and smiled. She didn't want to keep Ash worried about her, "Oh don't worry about it. I'm fine really. Here, let me hang those up" she took the last remaining towels off Ash's arms and hung them over the pole.

Ash: "Oh ok. Well I guess I'll start lunch"

Anabel: "Yeah, I'll finish off the rest of the chores"

Ash: "Actually, that was the last thing left"

The Frontier Brain member was surprised on what she just heard. "Not really. I still have to water the flowers"

"Done already I had Totodile to help"

"Ok then I guess I'll just clean the bird house"

"All clean. I even had Noctowl and Swellow to help out"

"Then how the dishes? (nod) The kennels? (nod) the litter box? (nod)…… The dragon lair?"

"Yup, all cleaned and… huh? Hey, you tricked me!"

Anabel just giggled, "Teeheehee, gotcha!"

After a morning without chores, Anabel decided to help Ash with lunch. It felt good to have nothing to worry about although it was a little embarrassing to have a guest doing your chores for you. "Hey, can you pass me the carrot?" Anabel asked. Ash handed her a bunch of carrots and then she skillfully sliced them into tiny pieces in a few seconds. Although her cooking techniques were impressive, Ash seemed to be more skilled than she had anticipated. She sliced the vegetables with one clean sweep, the hard to crush part of the meat was done in an instant and nearly everything was ready before Anabel could even realize it. She looked at Ash as he whistled his favorite Pokemon themes out loud. It was like having a radio but with only one frequency.

After they got lunch ready, the two of them sat down and dig in on what they made. Anabel believed that it was the tastiest meal she ever had. She couldn't quite put it but it seemed like a standard meal just like she had every day. Did she put extra salt or pepper? Did she mix up the sauce again? No. What kind of seasoning did she put that made this meal so perfect?

"Anabel?" Ash brought the girl out of thought, "Is something wrong? You were spaced out for a minute there"

"Huh? Oh nothing… nothing at all" a bright red blush sneaked off her cheeks.

As the meal went on without much event, Pikachu and Espeon decided to play a game of tag to burn off some weight they gained. In the midst of their game, Espeon caught Ash's cap by its tail, "Hey wait! Espeon, give me back my hat!" Ash and Anabel gave chase to those two Pokemon but speed wasn't exactly in the human genes. The two of them laughed as they raced around the house like two kids with no adult supervision. In fact… it was exactly like that.

By the time Ash got his hat he came to a complete stop. Anabel turned from a corner but wasn't able to stop in time. She bumped onto the boy and they both landed on the ground with a loud thud.

A streak of blush came through their cheeks as their faces were mere inches away. Ash's hat fell on top of her head blocking out one eye. At first the two of them didn't know what to think but it seemed like Anabel couldn't control herself. Her face got closer and closer. Their nose touched and their lips slowly made contact. A few more millimeters and they would've gone into a kiss but sadly…

Knock knock knock

Someone was at the door. "Anabel, are you there? It's me Scott!" the two of them broke apart almost immediately. Anabel was the first who got up and she was panicking. "Oh no, it's Scott! If he finds out you're here I'll be in big trouble!" without even thinking, she immediately dragged Ash to the guest room, "Please, stay here for a while ok? And don't make any noise!" she immediately shuts the door and ran towards the door.

"Good morning Scott" she composed herself as she answered the door. "Hello Anabel. I hoped you slept well last night"

"I did. So what brings you here so early in the morning?"

"I just came by to tell you that the challenger wants to battle you again" Scott flicked his glasses up a little bit, "He wants to battle by sun set"

"WHAT?! But I haven't even sent my Pokemon to the Pokemon center yet!"

"That's what I told him but he's just too energetic. Why don't you give me your Pokeballs and I'll bring them to the Pokemon center for you"

"Ok, I guess. But please take good care of them. Espeon, come here girl" she sucked up Espeon into her Pokeball and handed the rest of it to Scott, "Alright then. I'll be back in an hour or two. Oh… where did you get that hat?" Anabel reached for her head and quickly realized that she was still wearing Ash's hat. "Oh! I uh… got it from… uh… a friend of mine and uh…" it was then she realized that she was out of excuses, "Uhh… ummm I uh… Good bye!" she slammed the door and locked it.

Scott's eyes sharpened once more with suspicions, "Very suspicious" he muttered out.

(Back in the guest room)

Ash was standing at the same spot when Anabel dragged him in the room. He could still feel the taste of her lips on his lips. It was sweet, minty and… relaxing. "Whoa wait a minute! What am I thinking?!" he burst out in his head. He rubbed his head in embarrassment as the images flowed back through his mind. "Ahehehe… I need to get those pictures out of my head" he muttered.

Just when he could hear a car driving off, a sudden pain pierced through his stomach like a sword cutting through organs. "Pikapi!" Pikachu rushed towards his master's side but Ash just shrugged him away. "Arggghhhh!!" he silently yelled out in the room. He coughed and coughed over and over again until her he saw blood staining the wooden floor. The last thing he saw… was Pikachu's bright dark eyes staring at him.

(Back with Anabel)

Anabel just saw Scott's car driving off towards the nearest town. She sighed and slowly took off the cap from her head. She touched her lips as the taste remained of that near kiss. There was a hint of chicken, and soda combined which made such an awful combination but she didn't mind. Even though it tasted a little strange at first she became quite fond of it in just a few minutes.

She made her way to the guest room and knocked, "Ash, are you in there?" there was no reply, "Ash? Ash, I'm coming in"

She slowly opened the door hoping that she wouldn't catch him undressing himself or doing something humiliating but somewhere deep inside, she actually wanted to see him like that.

By the time she opened the door fully. Ash was already on the floor and unconscious. "Ash!" she rushed up to him and noticed that some of the wounds on his chest were reopened. "It must've happened last night!" she recalled the event that took place on that stormy day. She quickly picked up her cell phone only to remember again that it was out of battery. So with no communication and no aid, she carried Ash to bed and began redoing all the wounds on his stomach and chest.

"Oh… An…na…bel…" the poor boy was barely conscious.

Anabel nearly had tears coming out of her eyes, "Ash, hold on! Everything will be ok!" without another word, Ash went completely blacked out.

"Ash… hold on…… please…"


	4. What Happened to You Ash?

**Chapter 4: What Happened to you Ash?**

The sun sets into place, illuminating the world with its kind light. Darkness swept across the land, echoing its peaceful message to every creature it touches. But hey… I'm not Shakespeare…

Anabel had just finished washing the last of Ash's wounds. After all this time everything doesn't seemed to be going her way. This week her luck had been going from normal to bad to really bad then back to normal then it down to the bottom of the ocean level no wait… beyond below sea surface level.

Right after her 'patient' was stable, she quickly got up and change and prepared herself for the battle ahead. "Pikachu, please take care of Ash ok?" the little mouse nodded his head as she ran towards the main entrance where Scott was waiting with her Pokemon. "Oh I see you're finally up. Come on, the challenger is waiting"

"Yeah… sure" she replied. You could tell from her face that she didn't listen to a word he said. Scott grew more and more suspicious because she barely paid any attention to her Pokemon. She was giving out worried glances back to her house, like something bad was gonna happen or something.

A few minutes later, they drove off towards the Battle Tower.

The drive to the Battle Tower was long and uneventful. However, Scott had been noticing something very strange about Anabel. Her eyes were practically begging to close but she had to stay up a few more minutes so that she could beat the challenger again. She was actually getting annoyed by the challenger because of his mixed up mind. When he said that he was gonna come back in a week he comes back the next day. When he says five minutes it becomes five hours. Anabel hoped to end the battle quickly but by the time they got there… she was already fast asleep. "Oh boy…" Scott moaned.

The challenger approached the red corvette with a grin locked on his face. "Hey Scott, what's wrong with her?" the boy was probably about Ash's age. His red spiky hair blaze through the wind with a rough smell of gel. He wore a black T shirt and a pair of baggy pants that matched all together. Scott looked at him with his usual smiley face, "Well I looks like she haven't had a lot of sleep. Why don't we just have the battle tomorrow?"

Before the challenger could reply, Anabel groaned, "Hmmm… huh? Oh Scott… are we there already?" she said in a yawning voice. She rubbed off the sand in her eyes and carried herself into the battlefield. "Anabel, maybe you should rest for today. I don't think you're ready for a match"

"No I'm ok I just need a little wake up call that's all" she yawned loudly before entering her Battle Facility. The workers and trainers looked at their 'boss' as she slowly made her way to the battle ground. The poor girl looked like she could drop dead at any moment.

**(Back at the house)**

Pikachu managed to get himself a bowl of water for his master just in case something should occur. Ash was sleeping peacefully on the bed but his face consisted pain and madness. He was desperately looking for something but no one could understand what it was. It didn't sound like an object or anything you would come across along your travels. Ash himself didn't know what he was looking for. He just knows that he lost something that he treasured so much.

"No… I… I didn't…" Ash was talking in his sleeps. Pikachu heard him and quickly came by his side. "Pikachu?" it said with worries written all over its face, "Pikapi?"

"Stay… away… from me…"

"Pikapi!"

"No…! I didn't!" sweat began gushing down his face as he desperately tried to wake himself up. A second in the realm of the nightmare felt like an eternity of pain. Pikachu was about to use its thunder shock to wake the boy up but before he could charge its batteries, Ash swung his arm and tossed Pikachu to the ground, "I SAID NO!!!!!!!" the Pigiotos in the nearby forest scrammed away in fear of the yell.

Pikachu and the rest of Ash's Pokemon shook in terror as the rare unexplainable emotion of anger appeared on his face. It didn't just scared them it terrorized them.

With the burst of anger finally past… the boy went back onto bed… with his face calm and controlled. Pikachu did not understand this but he knew that there was something very wrong with Ash.

**(Back with Anabel)**

"Arcanine is unable to battle! The round and match goes to Anabel of the Battle Frontier!" the referee announced as he raised the blue flag to signal Anabel's victory. Scott and several trainers that were in the Battle Tower clapped their hands and cheered.

After an intense (well, half intense actually) battle, Anabel wanted to do nothing but go to sleep. She was able to bring out her strongest Pokemon into battle this time but even though she was barely half awake, she was still able to beat the Battle Frontier challenger with ease. "That was a great battle Anabel. I guess that much needed rest paid off after all" Scott complimented the half awake girl as they walked towards his red Corvette. "Thanks Scott I think I'll… head home and go to sleep" without warning, her brain immediately dropped dead in the car.

Scott gave out a sweat drop, "It looks like she hasn't gotten much sleep last night. I'll bring her back and why don't you go train first?"

The challenger nodded in agreement, "Yeah, she beat me three times already. I'll head back to town and practice. I'll come back in a week"

"And please make sure it's a week hehehe Well we're off!" and with that, Scott got into his car and drove off into the distance.

**(Back in Pallet town, professor Oak's lab)**

"He's late…" Samuel Oak was quietly complaining in his lab. He sent Ash to do a simple errand for him and he hasn't come back yet. Having worries take control of him the old man decided to give someone a call, "Hello, this is the Pokemon center. How may I help you?"

"Good evening Nurse Joy, I was wondering if you happened to see this boy here" he showed a picture of Ash and place it on the video screen. Nurse Joy observed the picture a little closer and quickly recognized him as the boy who came in a few days ago, "Why yes actually. He was here two days ago. I already delivered the package to the Pokemon lab and they'll be running the tests right away. Is there something the matter?"

"Well, it's because he hasn't returned yet. Is there any Pokemon contests or competition going on around there?" he asked with a slight panic in his voice.

Nurse Joy thought for awhile and then, "Oh why yes! There's a Pokemon fair coming in the next few days"

"I thought so. I guess after becoming a Pokemon Master wasn't really such a good idea after all" he sounded a bit depressed.

"Oh is something the matter honey?" Delia came by with a cup of tea and a smile on her face. "I think Ash will be gone for a few more days. It looks like he's still looking"

"Oh… I see" a rare expression of sadness came across Delia's face. "Ever since he became a Pokemon Master… he felt so… different from his friends" she remembered when Ash asked some of his old friends to do battle with him. They all refused because he was called master and as guidelines apply only a master can defeat a master. It was then Ash began distancing himself. He went by from town to town battling rookies and newbies that challenged him to claim his title. Barely any real seasoned trainers dared to battle him. They may be proud but not stupid to challenge the boy who was able to defeat the Elite fours of every region in the world. The boy was practically branded as an invincible opponent to everyone, and that didn't go well with Ash.

**(Back with Ash)**

The young Pokemon master finally woke up after a series of nightmares. Pikachu glared at the boy as he sweated in buckets. There was a huge amount of stress on his face and by the looks of it… Ash didn't look like he wanted to back to sleep any time soon. "H… how long was I…?" Pikachu shook his head in response, "I'm sorry Pikachu. I guess I must be having bad dreams again. (Pikpi pikapika pikachu!) Don't worry buddy. I'll try to get it over next time" he forced out a smile and quickly got dress.

Ash walked out in a seriously wounded condition and noticed that the dishes still needed to be washed. Right now he could care less about his own health. He just wanted the painful memories to go away and he didn't care what he needed to do. He began doing the usual household chores and quickly… the pain in his head lifted away.

A few minutes later, a red corvette drove by the parking area. Ash knew that it was Scott and Anabel so he hid himself behind the house. He peeked through a hole on the wall and eaves dropped on what they talking about in the house.

Anabel: "Thanks for the ride home Scott"

Scott: "No problem. You just get some rest and I'll be sure to call you next week. Why don't you go to the Pokemon fair in town? It'll relieve some stress off you. I heard they might also have a Pokemon competition too"

"_Pokemon competition…"_ Ash thought

Anabel: "Maybe I will. Thanks Scott… see you soon"

After the corvette drove off into the distance, Ash decided to come out and greet the girl in her home, "Welcome home" he said with a cheerful smile. She was quite surprised to see the Ash up and awake, "Ash you idiot!" she yelled out, "You shouldn't be working, you should be resting!" Ash protested at first but when he started limping Anabel quickly moved into action and checked his wounds, "Well… the bandages are holding. You should go and rest, I'll do the rest of the work" in the end Ash submitted to her rule.

The young Pokemon Master laid on his bed but he did not go to sleep. He was too afraid to even close his eyes for a minute. Every time he slept, a vision of his past would come back to haunt him. He did not know why these visions remained or why he was given them in the first place. The horrors of his worst memories played back over and over again like a tape recorder that never stops. There were times when he would never sleep at all. He practiced staying up on both night and day and eventually… it became somewhat of a habit of his. People would often see him on the streets of cities wandering through parks and docks. He's been doing this for so long that even mothers managed to make a bed time story out of it.

_A Pokemon Master wanders through the streets and both night and day. He haunts the cities where Pokemon competitions are held. He searches for the strongest trainer that the competition could offer and challenges them into a battle. And if the trainer cannot defeat him… then the Pokemon Master would take his soul._ It was a child story for all they know.

"Ash, dinner will be ready in a few minutes" Anabel yelled out from the kitchen making Ash break away from his train of thoughts. Anabel felt strange in saying that. In all her years of living alone she had only been saying those words to her Pokemon and usually there wouldn't be any reply. "Coming!" he said in return.

Dinner went by uneventful and Ash was finally able to get Pikachu to behave. When the last plate was emptied, Anabel decided to pop up, "Hey Ash, do you want to go to the Pokemon fair this afternoon?" she hesitantly asked, "I heard they have a lot of nice attractions for the whole week" Anabel was really hoping for positive reaction from him but she also braced herself for rejection. But in a move that surprised both her and Pikachu… he smiled, "I'd love to Ann" 'Ann'? Since when did he call her by her nickname, "Just let me get my cap and we can go"

When Ash left to get change, Anabel put the dishes in the sink. She'll come back and clean them up later. Before she even knew what was going on, they were already at the town square.

Lights filled almost every corner of the intersection. Vendors placed their shops along the sidewalk selling their stocks ranging from fine food delicacies to beautiful trinkets and jewelries. Anabel had to resist the urge to purchase every lovely accessory she came across. Her pay checked had just arrived and she was already spending like crazy. As she walked down the sidewalk glaring at all the attractions, a cotton candy nearly hit her face, "Here ya go…" said Ash as he handed her the cotton candy, "You should try it. It has the best taste ever" they both laughed slightly and continued walking together.

After going through several games and winning several prizes, the two of them decided to take a break along the boulevard. "Oh yeah, that reminds me. We should get to the hospital and get your wounds checked Ash"

Ash smiled, "Don't worry about it. I already feel better, really"

Anabel gave out an annoyed face and before Ash could react, she was already pulling him by the arm, "Oh no you don't mister! I'm bringing you to the hospital and that's final!" Ash was screaming like a little as he was being dragged away. Even if the boy had been attacked by thousands of Pokemon, been through life threatening situations and facing unimaginable odds only an idiot would dare challenge, nothing could compare to the fear he had for hospitals. He hated doctors, needles and all kinds of medicines they gave out.

A few hours later, a doctor came by to check up on the young master, "Hmm…" he inspected the wounds a little closer and found no trace of any mistakes, "Well it looks like his wounds are healing nicely. I have to say Anabel, I'm glad to see your medical skills haven't rusted. Now all I need is your identification young man and you can be on your way" Ash gave out his Pokedex and turned to Anabel, "See, I told you I was fine"

"Oh put a sock in it. At least we came. That gives me time to get more bandages just incase something like that should happen again"

Their conversation was then cut short when the doctor suddenly screamed like a little weasel, "What's wrong doctor!?" asked Anabel. The two of them had a sense of dread coming upon their hearts. The doctor was looking directly at the x-rays and they thought that he might have found something wrong with Ash. The two of them waited for a reply but the silence went on. The doctor slowly turned his head and faced Ash with a terrified face, "You… you… you're… A… Ash… Ke… Ketchum" he nodded in reply. In a move that surprised even the great master himself, the doctor bowed his head on the ground and said, "Forgive me for not recognizing you Oh Great One! I should have known it was you the moment you walked through those doors!"

Ash: "Uh…"

Doctor: "Oh… I'm not even worthy of even hearing your voice oh great one and---"

Before the mad doctor could continue his ranting and praise, the two teens left the hospital. Anabel laughed all the way towards the store, "Hahaha! Oh Great One? Now that's something new hahahaha!" the boy lowered his head in embarrassment, "Ah don't worry, I've heard worst. So where do you want to go next? We still have two hours before the gate closes" Ash quickly changed the subject to prevent further embarrassment. As the two of them walked through the empty streets of the town, a flyer suddenly flew by forcing Ash's hands to grab it.

Anabel: "What is it?"

Ash: "Oh nothing… it's just a Pokemon competition (throws away the flyer)"

Anabel: "'Just' a Pokemon competition? Come now, don't you think it's a little interesting? Who knows, you might get to meet a good trainer"

Ash:"…… I guess"

Anabel: "Then come on! Let's get you signed up!"

Ash: "I…… I can't"

Anabel: "Why not?"

Ash: "The Pokemon league policies say that when you're a master, you aren't allowed to join other competitions. A Pokemon Master can only participate in tournaments and challenges"

It felt like a knife had just pierced through the boy's heart by just saying those words. He gently puts away Anabel's arms and slowly made his way towards the gate. He stared at the ground and covered his eyes with his hat so that no one would see his face. Anabel felt like idiot for inviting him over for that. How could she possibly forget the number one rule of the Pokemon Master? She needed to make it up to him and fast. Just before Ash could take three paces towards the gate, a pair of arms wrapped around his right arm. "Anabel?" he said in confusion. The lotus haired girl smiled, "Then we don't need to participate. Let's just go watch instead, please?"

Ash smiled back and nodded in reply.

They arrived at a basketball field which was earlier converted into a Pokemon battlefield. It was small and the audience filled the seats pretty fast. Roof tops were taken and those living nearby looked through the windows and doors.

The match went fairly well. Trainers came up with tactics and abilities that even Ash himself was impressed. He analyzed the battle in an instant and before he knew it, he already knew the weakness and flaws of all of them. By the end of the match he could already tell which of them were pros and which of them were rookies. He remembered how ignorant he was back in the days and when he looked at the newbies it kind of reminded him about his old self. Being a Pokemon Master at the age of fourteen can be a real drag.

When the competition ended the announcer brought up the winner and gave him the prize money. The victor held up his arm and waved at the cheering crowd with a smile on his face.

Just as things began to die down, Anabel and Ash decided to head on back home. "That was a great competition" said Anabel. Ash nodded in agreement along with his Pikachu, "I bet if you were there you'd win first prize" the boy blushed slightly and giggled, "You think so?" he asked a little embarrassed.

"Of course I do. After what you did back at the Pokemon league at the Indigo Plateau I wouldn't be surprised at all" Anabel giggled loudly, but it soon came to a stop when Ash stopped. She glared back at him with a puzzled face, "What's wrong Ash?" the boy didn't reply. He just stood there with his head starring down at the ground. A sad look came upon his face. His smile was turned upside down with the mere mention of the Pokemon league. Anabel came to his side to find out what's wrong, "Hey Ash, are you ok?"

Finally gaining his sanity controlled, he gave out a weak smile, "Oh… sorry, it was nothing. I was just thinking about something. Come on. It'll be cold soon" he then began walking towards Anabel's house. The boy was as transparent as a ghost. Anabel could see that something was bugging him and whatever it was it definitely had something to do with the Pokemon league.

Deciding not to pry anymore from him, she walked by his side silently as they glared at the full moon above.


	5. Forced Date

**Chapter 5: Forced Date?**

It was quiet…… oddly quiet. There were no sounds of the morning birds or the squeaks of the wandering Pokemons that just so happens to past by. There was nothing. Anabel quickly got up the same time Ash did. "Good morning" they said to each other yawningly. "I'll go make breakfast" said Anabel. Ash nodded and made his way to the bathroom to get himself cleaned up. A part of the boy felt a little depressed. Since the Pokemon fair was over he had no reason to stay here any longer. He knew he had to head back to Pallet town or else his parents would be worried sick. A small part of him wanted to leave but an even bigger part of was telling him to stay just a little while longer. He already knew that the bus would be passing through this road in a matter of hours and it most likely would take him directly to Varidian city, which was pretty close to Pallet town.

The boy arrived twenty minutes later on the dining room. The smell of pancakes was absolutely stunning. Sat down with drooling just right above his food like a crazy man. Anabel giggled and smiled back at the boy's child like expression. Just before Ash sank his teeth on the delicious food, a sudden rang came upon his pocket. He reached out and grabbed his Pokedex which was also given the phone function. "Hello?" he answered, "Ash! Thank goodness! Where are you?"

"Oh hey Professor, I'm… at a… friend's house right now. Is something wrong?"

The professor sighed with relief, "Well we've been trying to contact you for sometime now. You should've been home a long time ago"

Ash flinch his face in embarrassment, "How long have I been staying here?" he wondered, "Oh sorry professor, there were some… issues I had to take care of ahehehehe"

"Well as long as you're safe than that's fine with me. You really had me worried there boy. Oh by the way. I heard that there was Pokemon fair in town. Did you watch the Pokemon competition?"

"……yeah…" the tone of his voice sank down.

"Oh… sorry about that. I forgot that you…"

"It's ok professor. I'll be going soon…" and with that he hung up. He resumed his meal but… at some point. It didn't look as tasty as before. He took a few bites before playing with his food. By the time Anabel joined him on the dining table, she could see the sudden change in his face. "Is something wrong Ash?" she asked while holding a box of orange juice. "Oh… nothing. It's just that I'm going home after this" Anabel's eyes slightly widened. The grip on her glass tightened as her heart beat faster. She tried to keep it cool, "Oh… I see… well then. I guess you have to pack up… soon"

"Yeah…" he said depressingly. The two of them remained silent during the entire meal. None of them wanted to say anything… heck they didn't even know what to say!

By the time they finished their plates; Ash went to the guest room and started packing up. Anabel went to the kitchen and washed the dishes. Her heart felt so depressed that she could cry. She only felt this way when she was watching her soap opera on TV with her Pokemon. Right now… it felt like a needle just pierced her heart. Her throat dried and her mind went into a state of a silent chaos. She scrubbed the dishes harder and harder making them crack. She calmed herself down with her telepathic abilities and sat on the sink. _"What am I angry about?!" _she asked herself, _"I mean… he's only leaving, so why should I care? Its not like I can stop him if he wants to go"_ the more she thought of it the more she felt she wanted to break something. Her train of thought suddenly stopped when Ash appeared, "Hey Anabel?" her anger quickly disappeared and turned into surprise.

"Y… yes?"

"I… I'm going… now"

Anabel escorted him to the door where he would leave. A part of was saying, 'Grab him! Hold him! Don't ever let him go!' and it seems like her other side was saying…… well… nothing.

Conscious 1: "What the heck are you waiting for? Grab him already!"

Conscious 2: "Umm…"

Conscious 1: "Shut it! This is an opportunity of a life time! Don't you think she's been single long enough!?"

Conscious 2: "YEAH! Go for it girl!"

Just when Anabel was reaching out for him, a heap load of white cotton flooded into the house when Ash opened up the door. Both of them pulled back startled on what just happened, "What the heck?!" Anabel yelled out in surprise. Ash slowly reached out and touched the cotton… after then… he realized that it was…

"Snow?"

By the time they realized that it snowed last night, the house that both of them were staying was buried under a heavy blanket of snow. You could still see the sky from the second floor but anything below that was all white. The cabin where Anabel was staying was a little high up in the mountains but it was very unnatural for a blizzard to suddenly hit without them knowing.

With the large amount of snow blocking the path, it explained why the house was a lot colder than usual and why there weren't any sound of Pokemon outside. Ash quickly grabbed his Pokedex and explained the situation to his newly made father.

"… A snow storm?" said the professor in a confused tone

Ash nodded, "That's right professor. It's covering the whole road and I don't think it's gonna stop any time soon"

The professor thought for awhile and remembered, "Well it is almost winter, so I guess the mountain area should be experiencing the blizzard first hand"

"Do you know when it will stop?"

"I'm a scientist boy, not a weather man Ash" he said in a joking tone, "But if the weather is that bad then I guess you'll be staying there for awhile yes?"

Ash blushed a little, "I… I guess so"

"Well as long as you remain in contact then I won't worry. If you need anything just call ok?" and with that the professor hung up.

Ash quickly put his Pokedex back into his pocket and rushed to Anabel's side to get the snow out of the house. "Well, it looks like you won't be going anywhere today" she said with a slight hint of happiness in her voice. Ash smiled back and nodded in reply, "Yeah. The professor said that the mountain areas are the first place to get hit by snow storms"

"I know that but it never snowed this hard before. I mean… yesterday was almost as hot as the Orange Islands but now it's as cold as the North Pole brrrrrr" she shivered as she spoke. Ash giggled at her unusual expression, "I think we're gonna need some help with this. Come on out Aipom" Ash's Aipom appeared and quickly assisted Ash on moving the snow out of the house. Anabel made sure that all the windows and doors leading to the outside were locked and well barricaded.

After finishing with cleaning up the messes, Anabel went into the kitchen to fix up some nice warm chocolate. Her anger and sadness were quickly forgotten and before she realized it, she was whistling Ash's favorite Pokemon theme. It felt like this blizzard was more of a blessing that a curse. She imagined herself snuggling with Ash on a nice cozy sofa right next to the fire place. She could see herself snuggling closer to his face… closer and closer…… until…

POP!

Her thought balloon was blown out when the popcorn she was making began popping. _"What am I thinking?! I can't start a relation with him. I'm a Frontier Brain member, I can't… I… I can't…"_ she couldn't bare to even think of the word. It wasn't just because she was a Battle Frontier member but because Ash was a Pokemon Master. If news gets out then she'll be on the front page of every news paper in Kanto to Shinou region and that wouldn't bold well for her. By the time the coco and popcorn were ready she took them out and decided to think of that topic on some other time.

Ash sat on the couch happily petting Espeon while Aipom and Pikachu were playing around. Most of the furniture were used as barricades so there was plenty of room to move around freely. This time they wouldn't cause any more damage like they used to. Anabel sat next to Ash and handed him his coco. "Here Ash, you might need to warm up" she said with a smile on her face, "Thanks" he replied. They both sat there… quietly without a word. Both of their minds were running thoughts of their own. So without saying anything, they just decided to watch TV. They didn't mind the silence between them. A hot cup of chocolate and some popcorn was all they needed to make the afternoon perfect.

After several shows ended, Anabel remembered that today was Sunday and that it was also her movie night. She looked at the clock, 3:00 PM. "Hey Ash" the boy turned his attention away from the TV, "Yeah?"

"I was able to buy a good movie when I left town. Do you want to watch it with me tonight?" she took the video out of her bag and showed it to him. Ash quickly scanned the title and the summary of the movie and remembered that it actually came from a famous novel he read a few years back. He couldn't remember all the detail but if he read it then it must be good. "Sure, I don't mind. I wonder who's playing the main role though"

With a happy answer Anabel gathered the cups and bowls and head back into the kitchen. She took out the roast beef that was eaten by the intruder a few nights ago. She remembered the event clearly as if it was embedded into her soul. The blood shot eyes and grin that the man gave was so horrifying that it scared her every time she imagined it. She took out the beef and placed it in the oven for awhile. She cooked some rice and some other things that would go well for the night because she knew that Ash had a black hole in his stomach and it won't be easily content with just one lump of meat.

The night came faster than any of them would ever think. Ash really hoped for the day to last just a bit longer cuz he couldn't take the pressure of eating with Anabel. The couch he sat on was good for three people and the atmosphere was great. A nice movie on TV, a fire place to keep them warm and the smell of the food seemed to take your heart away. Espeon quickly jumped off his lap and played with the other two Pokemon.

"Ash?" the boy's thoughts were disrupted when Anabel shouted from the kitchen, "Yes?" he replied, "Dinner will be ready in a minute, can you put the video in?"

"Ok" he sounded happy for once. He slipped in the video in a high tech VHS/VCD/DVD player and played it. As the previews showed up Anabel came by with a tray packed with dozens of her delicacies. Everything he saw on the small 4x4 square table was all of Kanto's famous dishes. His mouth began to drool as he completely ignored the TV. He was now more interested in the taste. It took nearly all of his will power to hold himself before lunging towards the food and stuffing his face. He retrained himself with own hands but the smell… "Uh" the smell was too good to be true. It was tickling his nose as if it was pulling him. Anabel giggled as she came back with two bottles of soda. When she finally sat down, Ash release the grip from his body and began chomping the food down one by one. He totally forgot all of his table manners and ate so fast that he nearly choked. Anabel patted him on the back and so he was able to breathe again. It would be a real shame if the great Pokemon Master should die from eating beef. They'll probably say, 'The Meat did it' in the news paper.

As the show progressed on to the semi-climax part, the two of them began to get a little scared (it was a famous horror-mystery movie) Anabel held tighter onto Ash's hand. The climatic part was so scary that Pikachu and Espeon hid under the pillows and covered their ears from the sound. When the monster (in the movie) finally appeared Anabel screamed and snuggled onto Ash. The boy himself was also scared that some of his hair would've turned white if they could. They stayed in a hugging position until the action sequence began. Upon realizing their awkward position they quickly broke off blushing.

They both went silent for a long time until the movie turned into an ending kissing scene. There was an unusual silence between them and in the end it would be Ash who broke it, "Umm… Anabel… I uh…" he was blushing even more. He couldn't control this feeling inside of him. It was alike a whole inside his heart was filling up yet he could not get enough of it. This wasn't the first time he felt like this. He felt this sensational feeling a year ago after he defeated the Pokemon league in the Indigo Plateau. As he was trying to speak up, Anabel placed her head on his shoulder, "Hey wait a minute, Anabel! Huh?" the late night tension was increasing dramatically. Ash could feel his pulse racing and his stomach churning like it had gone through a washing machine. Just when all of those emotions were bottling up his head he suddenly noticed that the girl had already fallen asleep. "Oh… she's asleep…" he whispered.

Gathering up the courage, he slowly wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer to him. The coldness outside seemed like nothing now. The snow continued to fall silently in the winds and the sound of the fire cracking was soothing to the ear. Ash switched off the TV with the remote and put his jacket over Anabel. It was strange… this morning he was planning to go home but after awhile he stayed here all day and perhaps even all night. He didn't want to think of what happened that event that took place long ago. Right now he just wanted to bury that memory inside an impenetrable fortress and have it guarded the fiercest army his mind could create. As the atmosphere became cooler, Ash threw a log into the fire place to keep himself warm. As he glared at the blazing fire, he suddenly began to cough. He coughed about six or seven times until it finally stopped. "Oh man… I'm still sick" he took out a small box in his side pocket and gently opened the lid. He took two unmarked pills and glucked it all down with a glass of water.

A few minutes later, Anabel suddenly felt the urge to wake up. She yawned loudly and looked at the clock, "(yawn) It's that time already?" she said sheepishly. Ash giggled and decided to walk her to bed. Pikachu and Espeon followed them drowsily going left and right until they finally made it to the master's bed room. Ash remembered this room well. It was the time when he first woke up to meet Anabel for the first time in so many months. He could still see several first aid kits scattered along the area. Anabel hadn't cleaned her room ever since he got here, "Hmm… I'll have to clean this place up tomorrow" he took down a mental note and slowly tucked Anabel to bed. She was so sleepy that the moment she closed her eyes, she already began to snore.

Ash back tracked to the guest room and laid on his bed like a piece of log. He removed his black T-shirt and laid there with his upper half naked. His eyes fluttered as his Pikachu and Aipom slept side by side. He was jealous… jealous of them sleeping so peacefully like that. Their faces were so cute and innocent that it would be a sin just to wake them up. After gazing at his two Pokemon, he forcibly closed his eyes and tried to find a peaceful way of going to sleep. As he curled his body into position, he heard the door to his room slowly opening. He sat up on his bed and looked at who was entering his room. A lone figure stood at the entrance of the door with a pillow on its arm. Ash took a closer look and noticed the purple hair, purple pajamas and the fluffy slippers, "Anabel?" he said out. The girl seemed to be in a sleep walking mode and thus she has no idea on what was happening or what she was doing.

Without warning, she came towards the boy with her pillow, "Anabel… are you---" before he could finish his sentence, Anabel hugged him and flung herself onto his bed. (Well, technically its her bed because it's her house… but you get the idea) Ash was in shock. A girl he knew a for a few days was hugging him and better yet, she was on his bed with only a thin layer of PJs and her undergarments. Ash wasn't really sure how to act on all of this. His hormones were really acting up and hell was probably laughing at him right now. Just when snuggling onto him wasn't enough, Anabel extended her arms and held Ash by his stomach. She snuggled her head onto his chest and slept peacefully.

**(Ash's Mindscape)**

The fortress of virtue stood against the horde of maturity. Ash looked both ways and saw them fighting for supremacy on his mind. The leaders of both sides came to him with great determination in their eyes. The man of maturity spoke first, "Ash my boy! Now is the time to grow! Be a man and reach for her! She's all yours!" but then the valet of virtue pushed him away, "No Ash, you must learn to restrain yourself! There is nothing to gain from this but pain and---" man of maturity gave his an uppercut, "Listen Ash, you don't exactly get a girl like that every dynasty! Go and reach out! There's nothing to stop you! Alright everyone! Stand tall and charge!" with that, Ash was left alone while his two unrelated sides battled it out.

**(Back to reality)**

After having his mind working and battling tirelessly for dominance, Ash was seriously getting tired. His visions began to blur as the room around him began to spin violently. And with the dizziness, he slept. With both teens sleeping on each others side, arms wrapped and bodies melded… none of them could see… the pair of red eyes… gazing through the window.

"Hee hee hee hee"


	6. The Pain of The Past

**Chapter 6: The Pain of The Past**

The morning sun failed to appear in the morning. The early birds remained silent and the sound of the wind gushed through the window giving out a silent tune of a song. It was truly a silent morning to remember, because there wasn't exactly any sun shining. Dark clouds loomed over the northern part of Kanto, making a blizzard so hard that it covered the once lush green plains of the region with a white blanket.

Anabel slowly wakes up from her sleep. She held onto the pillow (a real pillow!) the one that she brought last night and placed it gently on her back. Her eyes fluttered as she never felt more comfortable in her entire life. Her head was snuggling into something slightly hard but somewhat soft at the same time. A pair of arms wrapped around her body making her feel… safe as if those arms would protect her from any danger that the world would throw at her. By the time she managed to register the thought of… 'arms' her eyes widened and quickly looked at what she was sleeping on. Her heart stopped (literally) for a few seconds before it began pounding again. OMG she was sleeping on a half naked Ash! Her head was carefully placed on one his chest while her arms were wrapped his waist. She wanted to scream so badly but looking at his peaceful face was like looking at the face of a god.

Many young trainers would also think like her too. A year ago when Ash became an official Pokemon Master, many newbies practically worship Ash like a true living god. They idolized him, they praised him heck they would even give some sort of offerings to him like food or Pokemon of different species.

By the she came to realization she roughly got out of the bed with her hands on her mouth. The instant noise and sudden change of temperature in the room immediately woke Ash up. His eyes were barely in focus until he was able to see Anabel currently in shock. It took Anabel a few moments to finally realize that she wasn't in her room anymore, and with that she ran out of the room with a very confused thought popping in her mind.

Ash himself was confused too. He wasn't surprised on how Anabel reacted. He was actually surprised that he was able to sleep at all! The visions the nightmares… they didn't haunt him last night. At first he felt like he could take on the whole world, but when he remembered Anabel he sighed.

This definitely wasn't going to look good on her if this gets to the public. "Oh boy… what am I gonna do now?" he said quietly to himself.

**(In the kitchen)**

"_I slept with him… oh god I really… slept with him"_ Anabel was choking out a sob out of her breath. She couldn't really conjure up a solution to the problem she was having. She was able to asked her Espeon telepathically and was told that she was the one who went to Ash's bed, not vice versa. She remembered having a sleep walking problem a few years back but she though that it was gone for good. _"What am I gonna do? What should I say?"_ who would know what to say at a situation like that? She just slept with the greatest Pokemon Master alive (but without those lemon stuff) and she ran out crying thinking that he had defiled her.

After cooling down a bit, she decided to make breakfast. She didn't even bother to look at the clock. She was too confused, too worried and very sad to do that right now. Espeon just sat there on a corner, looking at its master as she continues to work effortlessly to make a big meal.

After about an hour later, Anabel began to noticed that she was really making a lot just for herself. At the beginning she just planned to have a bowl of cereal but with all those emotions and thoughts bottling inside her head she really needed to do something to take her mind off the problem. "This is really too much for me…" she sighed.

She placed all the plates on the tray and made her way to the dining room, but when she turned around the corner she encountered Ash.

They both stopped on their tracks and stared at each other with sadness in both of their eyes. They gaze at each other hoping that one of them would finally break that long silence between them. Ash clenched his fist and decided to speak first but the moment he opened his mouth, Anabel's legs were showing signs of weariness. He managed to catch her before all the food went to waste on the floor, "Anabel!" he yelled out to get her attention.

By the time she snapped back to reality she felt a pair of hands holding on to her arm and shoulder. She was feeling really weak for some strange reason and she couldn't explain why. By the time she noticed Ash holding on to her she shrugged them away in fear.

Ash couldn't help it if Anabel was afraid. But what was there to be afraid of? He wasn't going to hurt her, heck the boy never hurt anyone before in his life unless they hurt him or any of his friends first. Anabel got up on her own two feet, "B… breakfast is ready" she said not looking at the boy. Ash nodded and agreed to follow her into the dining table.

By the time the food was set, none of them had to appetite to eat anything at all. Anabel from her position to the other side of the table. She couldn't stand being next to Ash or even looking at him right in the face. Whenever he touched her, she would develop some sort of fear in her heart. Whenever he looked at her, it would feel like a knife was stabbing her right at her chest a hundred times a second.

Pikachu, Aipom and Espeon could feel the aura of uneasiness forming around their masters. It was really ruining their morning and their breakfast but can you blame them for feeling confused right now? These two are having a forbidden, denied relationship for crying out loud! Ash picked his spoon and fork and decided to forced the food into his mouth. There was a deathly silence in the air and only the sound of clanging dining utensals could be heard. The Pokemon that were eating their Pokechow dare not say a word. With both of them still at a lost on what to do next, it would be best just to keep your mouth closed and eat.

A few minutes later they picked up the plates and dropped them by the sink. They would clean in up later tomorrow or tonight. The two of them never said a word to each other on that day. However… with the blizzard still out there, none of them could leave the premises unless one of them had a death wish.

By the time it was noon Ash decided to play with his Pokemon in the living room for a few minutes. He needed some time to think, some time to sort this through his rock hard brain of his. Anabel was also doing the same thing. She was scrubbing the back of her Espeon for nearly an hour now and she had yet to say a word to him or her Pokemon. This was truly going to be a long day for both of them.

**(Time skip 3 hours later)**

After the snow storm stopped for a brief moment. Ash ran towards the kitchen to fix lunch for both himself and Anabel but along the way, he met the girl in question. They both stared at each other again, still in silence and not a word spoken between them. Right before Anabel was about to head the other way, Ash thought he couldn't stand the silence anymore. He grabbed her wrist and forced her to look at him, "Anabel!" his silence finally broke off leading up to a full conversation, "I… I… I'm really sorry… about what happened this morning and I uh…" great, just great, how the heck could he possibly apologize to her when there was nothing to apologize about? She was the one who came to his bed, it wasn't his fault that she was only wearing her PJs and IT was definitely not his fault that he was half naked…… oh wait… yes it is…

"I don't really know what to say Anabel. It's just that I…I…" he was about to say something… something that might change the course of his destiny for the rest of eternal life, "No no no no no! I can't fall in love again. I can't… it's too painful…" his mind was seriously battling against his heart. A battle much more fiercer than the armies of maturity and virtue combined. Ash kept holding on to her wrist giving no chance to let go. He was gonna have to say something quick or risk losing a friend forever.

Anabel: "Ash… I"

In a move that would surprise even the gods themselves, Anabel's heart unleashed a wave of emotions that the whole region could've felt. She pried Ash hand off her and began heading the other way in tears. But Ash wasn't one who would give up so easily. He tried to reach for the girl's shirt but during the process, Anabel slipped over a bar of soap that appeared out of nowhere and tumbled against Ash. The two of them bounced down the stairs each step of the way. By the time they landed on the surface, Ash knocked over a basket of dirty laundry which tumbled down on his face. Once all the ruckus died down and both of them sitting up in pain, Anabel couldn't hold a laugh when she saw Ash with a pile of clothes on his face and the swurly eyes he made.

Ash felt relieved to see a positive mood, "Feeling better now?" he asked

Anabel nodded, "Yeah…" she said slightly happy.

It was then a moment of silence brewed up between them. They both looked down on the ground in another awkward silence. But soon enough they would both break the silence, "Hey Anabel/Ash" they said in unison.

Ash: "Uh… you go first"

Anabel: "No you go on ahead"

Ash: "Oh come on, ladies first"

Anabel: "No I insist, you go first"

Ash: "Oh don't worry, I can wait for ages"

Anabel: "Age before beauty…"

Ash: "Beauty before beast…"

They both kept telling the other to say what they want to say but to tell you the truth, they actually had the same thing in mind, "Why don't we just pretend it never happened?!" they both said in unison again. When they realized that they had a common idea, they laughed and giggled with joy. "So do we agree?" Ash asked with his usual bright smile. Anabel nodded, "Yes I agree. Come on, I'll go and make lunch"

"I want salted pork please"

"You'll have to go the market later on, once this blizzard stops" Anabel yelled out as she made her way to the kitchen. A smile crept up onto Ash's face as he put back all the dirty laundry back into the basket. Pikachu and Espeon glared at their two masters as their friendship finally returned to normal status. They were both puzzled and could never figure out the basic principles of the human relationship. They both agreed to each other that Ash and Anabel, had to be the most confusing pair of humans this world has ever known.

**(Time skip 2 days later)**

When the morning sun finally came out for once in a very long time, Anabel stretched out to greet the warm rays of the morning glories. The birds were once again chirping their favorite tone just like before, and the Pokemon were now hanging around their usual spots. Just when she finished doing her stretches, she noticed Ash doing all the house hold chores again. She didn't mind it now though. Having some extra help around the house made her feel like a million bucks made out diamonds. She felt so revitalized that the event that took place a few days ago seemed like a dream.

There was still snow in the mountains but it wasn't as heavy as before. She could see some pedestrians and travelers coming up and down the mountain side. And just when the two of them were about to dig in on their breakfast, the phone rang. Anabel tore herself from the plate and answered the phone. "Hello, Anabel speaking. Who am talking to?" she asked politely on an indirect conversation. "Hey Anabel, how ya doing?" it was Scott on the other line. Anabel slightly gasped and told Ash to hide before the video phone opened up. The young master hid himself in the kitchen and hope not to make any noise along the process.

"Oh, sorry Scott. So what I can do for you?"

"Well I'm just here to tell you that the challenger seemed to have gotten himself really sick. He was out training all night during the snow and finally he was able to catch a cold… and a fever heh heh heh"

"I heard that!" said another voice beside Scott.

The chubby man just giggled in response, "Well anyway. I don't think he'll be doing any battles for awhile. I already put your paycheck in your account so why don't you take some time off?"

"Thanks Scott, I think I'll do that! By the way, how's that project coming along?"

"Project? Oh you mean the new battle facility? Well we've been working on the schematics but without another Frontier Brain, we won't be able to do anything until then (car honking) Oh, he's here. Well I gotta go Anabel. Stay safe and stay warm ya hear? Bye" and with that they both hung up. She sighed and told Ash that he could come out now.

By the time they finished breakfast, Anabel suddenly realized that her food storage was running dangerously low. "It looks like we're running out of food. I'll head to the market and get some supplies. Ash, can you watch the house while I'm away?" the boy happily nodded his head in reply. He wouldn't even mind if could live here. Anabel smiled back and quickly grabbed her winter coat and head off back into town.

She put on her knee length boots, mittens and a winter cap to top it all. "I'm going now" she said back to Ash and her Pokemon, "Have a safe trip" Ash replied. They both looked at each other and smiled like good friends. By the time Anabel was out of sight, Ash decided that it was time to clean the house.

The first room he went to was the master's bed room. He rearranged the medical equipments littered around the place and neatly placed them back into their respected cabinets. The next place he had to clean up was the living room. He then washed the dishes, clean the Pokemon bird house, dog kennels, and litter box. After all the indoor house works were done he noticed that the whole house and paved roads were covered with snow. He quickly grabbed a shovel, dressed himself for the cold winter and began plowing through the snow. He hoped to give Anabel a nice warm welcome when she comes back from the market.

Shovel, plow, shovel, plow

That was all he could register in that mind of his,

After getting half way through the house, a sudden voice crept up from behind him, "Hey there kid" Ash quickly turned around and when he saw Scott… he felt that his heart leaped so far that it almost reached his mouth. It was damn good that he was wearing his hat and a long collar jacket or else the Battle Frontier boss would've recognized him immediately, "Sorry if I scared you but may I asked what you are doing here?" there was a little suspicious tone behind the man's voice but Ash decided to play it cool for now, "I uh um… I'm shoveling the snow out of the way"

"I can see that" Scott said as his raised an eye brow, "But I don't think you should be wandering too far from town" Ash had to think quick or his secret would be blown in an instant, "I uh… I travel through the mountains a lot and I uh… I was thinking that maybe I could raise some money along the way. So the girl who lives here offered me some money to plow all the snow off her house ahehehe"

Scott didn't look too convinced by that statement but he bought it anyway, "Oh I see. Well is Anabel around?"

"Huh? Oh she went to the market a few minutes ago. She said something about getting her paycheck and food or something like that" Ash lowered his winter hat even further to block eye contacts from him. Scott thought for a moment before he said, "Well it's good that she's back to her old self again. Keep up the good work kid and I might see you later" he slowly made his way towards the Battle Tower, where the challenger remains sick.

When Scott was finally out of sight, Ash let out a huge sigh of relief, "Oh man, thank the man who invented these caps and long collared jackets!" he said out loud. After finally recomposing himself, he took the liberty of pulling out all of his Pokemon to help him with the works around the house. Totodile used hydro pump to blast away the water. Cyndaquil melted the snow while Bulbasaur, Noctowl and Swellow, Pikachu and Aipom brushed them all away with their other attacks. By the time it turned noon, the whole house was sparkled clean and there wasn't even a speck of dust in sight. "Well guys, I think that's all of it. Return!" he put all of his Pokemon back in his Pokeballs and tugged onto his Pokebelt.

After having a cup of hot coco and some bread, Anabel returned with eight large sacks of food supplies with her, "I'm home" she said in an exhausting tone. Ash moved up and helped her, "Welcome home" he said with a giant smile. Anabel had never felt so exhausted before in her life. Luckily Scott decided to add a little bonus in her paycheck so she went on to buy more food than she needed. It wasn't because this was her usual routine, it was because she feared that another snow storm might come and she that she might starve to death.

"Anything good on TV?" she asked while removing her jacket. "Nothing much. Just some old classics ahhhhh" his words were lost when he saw Anabel removing her jacket. She looked so beautiful and graceful that your eyes would just burn to a crisp if you weren't careful. "Hmm? What's wrong?" she saw him glaring at her strangely. Ash quickly flipped the channel to sports and made up some lame excuse to get him out of trouble. "Ehh… nothing. Just some sports"

By the time Anabel put all the vegetables, meat and pokechows in the fridge and cabinets, she joined Ash and watched TV together. She scrolled through the channels until it came to the Pokemon league that was being held at the Indigo plateau. She put down the remote and watched the match intensely. There were some new faces and some familiar faces in the league and many of them had potential talents to become great trainers. Anabel was giving out some compliments until she noticed the sad and painful expression on Ash's face. He looked as if he was hurt or something. Seeing that the boy didn't want to watch anymore, she decided to flip the channel to cartoons instead.

A few minutes later, the phone rang, which caught her off guard. She ran up and answered it, "Hello?"

Scott: "Oh hey Anabel, I'm glad to see you're back. I was there at your place a few hours ago"

The purples haired girl was a bit shock, "Oh… really? Did… you see any…one else?"

Scott: "What do you mean? Oh you mean that shovel kid? Yeah he was there. He scraped up all the snow. He's a hard working kid for his age"

Anabel let out a small sigh of relief, "At least he doesn't know it was Ash"

Scott: "Anyway, the trainer wants to issue another challenge tomorrow afternoon. Can you make it?"

Anabel: "I thought he was sick"

Scott: "He was. But now he's up and ready to run. He'll be training until tomorrow. So can you make it or not?"

Anabel: "Sure Scott, I'll be there. (thinks for a minute) Oh hey, do you mind if I bring an old friend by too?"

Scott: "An old friend? I guess it's ok. Sure, why not"

Anabel: "Thanks Scott, I'll be there tomorrow afternoon. Bye"

By the time she hung up she came up to Ash with a wide grin on her face, "Hey Ash, do want to come by the Battle Tower tomorrow?" the boy looked at him with a confused expression on his face, "I think you need a battle to help cheer you up. And maybe you might even be able to tell what the challenger is doing wrong. So what da ya say?" she smiled at him so charmingly that it would be illegal to say no. Ash nodded and smiled back, "Sure Anabel. I'd love to. But I thought you didn't want anyone to see me?"

"Oh that… we'll just tell them that you were dropping by and you're staying in a hotel"

"Hmm… ok sure!"

"Great! Come on, help me make lunch already"

**(Back in Pallet town)**

Delia K… I mean Oak, was watering the flowers in the back yard. Since It was only snowing at the northern part of Kanto, Pallet town was as warm as it was before. Just when she finished watering the plants with Mr. Mime, the door bell rang. "Coming!" she yelled out to the person at the main gate. The professor's lab was located at the top of the hill with a stair case leading to the main road. It was a common place for people to pass by and it was easily accessible to any restaurants and stores in just a few minute walk.

By the time she got there, she was surprised to see a pair of squinty eyes at the entrance, "Oh good afternoon Brock. What can I do for you?" she asked as she opened the main gate. The squinty eyed man was wearing his same Hoenn traveling outfit with a box in hand, "Hello Mrs. Ketchum. I have the package that the professor ordered" he said as he patted the box in his hand. "Oh my, it looks quite heavy. Please come right in. He should be in his lab right about now. I tell you, if it wasn't for me, he would be practically living in that room for the rest of his natural life" Brock gave out a slight chuckle before entering the house.

The place was almost exactly the same except for some new furniture that was brought in from the Ketchum's residence. It now had a slightly family look which he didn't mind. "The lab is in there Brock. I have to go and feed the Pokemon now"

"Thanks Mrs. Ketchum… I mean Mrs. Oak!" Delia gave out a slight giggle as no one could ever get used of calling her that. With her off to feed the Pokemon, Brock entered the lab and noticed that nothing in that room had changed at all.

There were some old Pokemon relics on several cabinets. The Pokeball teleporter was still there and the Pokeballs of different kinds were lined up along the shelves. "Hey professor Oak" he said out to get the old man's attention. "Oh hello Brock! I see you haven't changed after all these years" Samuel Oak gave out one of his perfect smiles. Brock handed him the rather large square box and some documents, "I got your package here. Please sign here and here" the professor grabbed a pen and scribbled his signature onto the documents to confirm the delivery. "Thank you Brock. This should help me with my research greatly. Why don't you stay for lunch?"

"As tempting that may be professor…" to pass up on Delia's cooking was a very hard choice but Brock truly had his reasons. The professor knew them also but dare not to say it, "Its ok Brock. Ash is out doing a small errand for me and he won't be back in a couple of days" he said as he kept that smile on his face.

Brock: "I see…"

P. Oak: "you really shouldn't linger on the past Brock. It's not healthy"

Brock: "Well can you blame me? I mean…"

P. Oak: "Brock, I'm not sure if he's forgiven you or if ever forgave anyone at all. But you cannot change what happened on that day. If I knew anything better, Ash would look up to you as his big brother"

Brock: "He used to look at me that way. I was one of his best friends during his travels. If you said that to me a year earlier, I would've said yes… but after what happened then… I don't even think I can be a good big brother to him at all"

P. Oak: "He's still suffering from what happened. I mean… being in jail for a whole year isn't exactly a walk in the park. If it wasn't for Delia, I would've lost all respect from him"

Brock: "We all lost his respect professor. I just wished we could make it up to him"

P. Oak: "Tracey said the same thing. He wanted to find a way to make it up to Ash, that's why he left on his own Pokemon research journey"

Brock: "I don't blame him. But I… I was a big part of why he went to jail that time… and after that… I could never look at him in the eyes anymore"

Delia: "Don't be so hard on yourself Brock"

P. Oak: "Delia! I thought you were…"

Delia: "The door was left open so I thought you were still here. Want a cookie? (Brock and Mr. Oak took a bite off the cookie) Now listen you two. I know both of you are feeling guilty of what happened a year ago, but that doesn't mean you should feel down about it. Sure, my son might still hold a grudge and I don't blame him. I myself am still angry at all of you for not being there"

The two men felt like a sharp knife was on their throat. It was not like Delia to say those things but instead of provoking her, they just kept their silly mouth shut.

Delia: "BUT, that doesn't give you a reason not to move on. Why don't you take Ash for example? Even after what happened he was still able to take the role of becoming the greatest and youngest Pokemon Master. He moves on with his life and hopefully one day he would forget that none of that ever happened at all"

Mr. Oak and Brock could really feel the pained emotion that she was giving out. It was really hard for her to say those words but she meant every last one of them. Her heart was speaking out more than her mind. She let out some tears to fall down her cheek as her sunny side up smile stayed on her face.

Delia: "And to think… that the one to get him out of that prison would be his rival. Gary of all the people was the last I would expect (sob) hahaha"

Brock: "I… I'm sorry Mrs. Oak"

Delia: "That's ok dear. Why don't you stay for awhile? I'll be making lunch soon"

Brock: "…… Yeah… I think I'll do that"

Delia left the room almost immediately after she got her reply. She hid her eyes under her long hair hoping that no one would notice her smile slowly slipped away to a sad frown. By the time she closed the door and head to the kitchen, the two men sat there feeling more guilty than before. Delia did have a point though. Ash had moved on while they remain behind in the shadows. Brock clenched his fist and in a rare sight of anger, he smacked the wall so hard that his knuckles would be numb for a few hours. It was then he noticed a picture dangling right next to the wall he just smacked. It was a picture of Ash, Misty and Brock when they came from the Pokemon league during the boy's first adventure. They were smiling so happily at that time. How could he not see it? Was he so blind that he couldn't see that his best friend had been falsely accused? The rage in him was building up so fast that he could barely control it. The boy that was now Pokemon Master would barely even look at him with any sense of respect.

**(Flashback a few months ago)**

"Hey Ash…" Brock just arrived at professor Oak's lab when Ash and his mother were just moving in. Brock was holding an apology gift behind him to show how much he was sorry of what happened (I'll keep you guys in suspense) It took Ash a few minutes to finally notice Brock, "Oh… hello Brock" the tone of his voice was so shallow and cold that could freeze the deserts of Johto in nine years of winter. "Ash… I uh…" before he could even say anything Ash cut him off, "If you want to talk to my dad, he's in the house. Sorry, but I have to get my thinks now" he didn't even say a good bye or any farewells. A great reaction of hatred and sadness resonated from the boy's body making anyone who came near him feel utterly depressed.

"Ash… I'm… sorry…"

**(End Flashback)**

Professor Oak was also having the same reaction. To have Delia, the love of his life hating him was like dying… only it took a lot longer. A plague of guilt was embedded upon his soul like a dagger that could never be removed. How could he possibly forgive himself? He helped put the son of his love who was now also his son in prison. The mere thought made him hate himself ten folds and was truly disgusted on what he had thought of Ash when he was brought to court. Even though what had happened, Delia still agreed to his marriage proposal. Ash had no objection but he could see that the boy didn't look at him liked he used to. Thinking back on it now he was so ashamed that he thought that he doesn't deserve to be with his love.

**(Flashback a few months after the marriage)**

"Well Ash, how do you like your new room?" Samuel Oak was showing his new step son a giant guest room that hasn't been used ever since it was built. "I like it…" Ash said as he walked around the room silently. He turned back to see his new step father and gave him a smile. The professor would've died of a heart attack if he had one. A smile from him was truly unexpected. But as he looked closer, one would be able to see the fakeness of that smile and the pain that lingered behind his golden eyes. Ash had earned several scars during his time in prison and when he came out of that 'Hell on Earth' pit, he was truly a different person.

When the professor went to court, he expected that Ash was going to do a communal service or something. But when they heard that he was to be sentenced to prison, everyone was shocked.

"Ash… listen… I…"

Ash cut him off, "Don't worry dad, I'll still be calling you professor so don't worry" the boy was off the mark. Professor Oak couldn't really look at the boy in the eye. How could that boy still smile and laugh at him after all that he's been through? Professor Oak knew why Ash still held respect for him. It was because he was his father.

**(Flashback end)**

The professor was once again on the verge of crying. He was now asking himself why did he even proposed to Delia? Was it because he loved her? No… it was because he didn't want Ash to hate him. To lose the respect and attention from a noble spirit like Ash was like taking away his hopes and dreams of ever becoming a grand Pokemon researcher.

**(Time skip the next day, at Anabel's house)**

"Come on Anabel, you're going to be late!" Ash yelled out along with his Pikachu and Aipom. Anabel was still combing her hair, making every strain perfectly matching the other. "Coming!" she soon came out with her Pokeballs and Espeon beside her.

The trip to the Battle Tower was uneventful to say the least. There were a few Pokemon that only came out during the winter so it was kind of rare. Along the way they played a game of snowball and made a few snow angels to kept their spirits up.

By the time they reached the Battle Tower, Scott was already there drinking a hot cup of coffee. He wasn't wearing his usual Hawaiian tourist outfit anymore. Instead he was wearing a thick coat and baggy pants. He also had a brown scarf to keep his neck warm. "Hey Scott!" Anabel yelled out. She then whispered to Ash, "Ok Ash, remember the plan ok?" the boy silently nodded and smiled back acting naturally himself. "Hey Anabel… OH ASH! It's great to finally see you again!" the chubby man forgot his manners and shook the young boy's hand vigorously, "What are you doing here? And when did you get here?"

"Oh I was just passing by until I saw Anabel. She invited me to see the new Battle Frontier challenger" Ash made a great comeback with his act. I guess all that time in the drama club truly paid off.

Scott gave out a wide smile, "Well anyway. Why don't we talk inside? The challenger is probably getting bored of waiting" the other two nodded in agreement.

The Battle Tower was just exactly what it used to be when Ash came here. The stage was still big and the arena was still the same. Nothing much has changed except for the ceiling lights (giggle) the snack bar for the employees and Gary as the challenger and… wait a minute!

"Gary?!"

"Ash?"


	7. Condition

**Chapter 7: Condition…**

"Ash?"

"Gary?"

"Ash!"

"Gary! It is you!" the two ex-rivals gave out their secret handshake. It caught Ash completely by surprised to see his best friend here, "Wow Gary, what are you doing here?" he asked hoping to get a straight answer from him once in awhile, "The last time I saw you, you were heading off to the Shinou region! When did you come back? Did you find some new Pokemon? What happened to you all these years?"

Gary happily complied to answer most of his questions, "Hey one question at a time Ash. Well I got back here probably a few months ago. I was heading back to Pallet town until I saw Scott. He offered me to challenge the Battle Frontier and no I haven't gotten any new Pokemon. I sent some of the ones I had back to my old man. So what about you? What are you doing here? I thought you'd be living a life of luxury back home with all the money you got from winning all those Pokemon leagues" they both gave out a friendly laugh.

"Well, I was just passing by doing one of Professor Oak's deliveries. I met an old friend of mine, Anabel, who I think you already know" it was then that they noticed the girl in question was starring at them with a confused expression on her face, "Oh, sorry Anabel. This is my best buddy Gary. He and I used to be rivals during our Pokemon journeys, but I defeated him in the end!"

"Hey! You got lucky with that last shot! Besides, my Blastoise was a water type so of course it didn't stand a chance against your Pikachu" Gary pouted and faced the other way. Even though they were fifteen years old the two of them still act like they were ten years old. It wasn't long until Scott came by to see what all the commotion was all about, "Well Gary, it looks like you and Ash are old acquaintance?" he asked with a big smile still on his face.

"Yeah… he and go way back. Believe it or not, this guy was supposed to be dead last when he was training with me back in Pallet town" the two trainers gave out a smirk and laughed. It was great to meet an old friend at this most desperate of times. In fact, Ash would probably say he was his only friend that he would be able to trust. "So Anabel, are you ready for another match?" the purple haired girl nodded in acceptance to his challenge, "Hey Ash, why don't we talk about old times when we finish this battle? I'd bet you'd wanna hear some of my adventures"

"No… not really" Gary face faulted, "Hehehehe Just kidding Gary. I'll be waiting for you at the café, my treat" with their meetings agreed upon with a hand shake, Gary and Salon Battle Maiden Anabel took up their positions as the battle started.

There was no surprise that Ash saw Blastoise coming out first. That Pokemon was indeed Gary's starting Pokemon and it evolved through years of hard training together. Ash remembered how well Blastoise fought against his Pikachu in the semi-finals of the Pokemon league. It was able to hold itself against an element it was weak against for a long period of time. None of them backed down on that fight and withdrawing wasn't one of their options. But…… eventually, in the end, Ash emerged victorious.

Anabel felt strange. This was the fourth time she fought Gary and during his three tries to beat her, it would always come out with the same result. But now that he's back for the forth time, the boy's skills and techniques had risen about ten folds. His abilities were more accurate and his blows were stronger. It was like she was now fighting a whole new person. "You've improved Gary. The last three times I battled you, you barely made a scratch on any of my Pokemon" she said with a grin. Gary just smiled back in return and continued ordering his Pokemon.

As the battle raged on to about half an hour. Anabel's last Pokemon finally submitted defeat and was now unconscious on the battle field. Ash gave out a yell of joy to Gary and congratulated Anabel on a battle well done. And by the time Anabel finally handed the challenger his ability, they decided to go on for a little break at the café. Since Anabel and Scott owned the place, all the food was free of charge.

Anabel: "I see, so the two of you were rivals for five years?"

Gary: "Four years to be precise. That last year was……… something else"

Ash: "… Aheh. Anyway, I guess you'll be heading off to the battle pyramid huh?"

Gary: "Yeah probably. Wanna tag along? Maybe we could talk about old times"

Ash: "Nah. I think I had enough adventures for one day. Although I'd like to meet a few Pokemon trainers that are good"

Gary: "I heard that. Ever since you became master. No one wanted to battle you anymore… well… except me of course"

Ash: "You were never one to refuse a battle before"

Anabel: "Well from the looks of you two. You guys must be really close friends"

Gary: "Well, technically this kid here is actually related to me"

Ash: "I'm his uncle"

Gary: "Yeah yeah yeah, we heard that before. But cousin sounds better don't ya think?"

Scott: "That reminds me! Anabel, I got a call from your parents and they wanted you to contact them as soon as possible. It sounded urgent"

Anabel: "My parents? Ok. I'll see you two in a minute"

When the Frontier Brain member was finally out of sight, Scott turned his attention to the buffet table at the edge of the cafeteria. "I think I'll go and get something to eat. You guys want anything?" he asked to two trainers with his trade mark smile. The two of them just shook their heads in response. "Ok, suit yourself. I'm gonna have me some snacks" he went off to the snack table drooling all the way.

With no one nearby to eaves drop on them, Gary decided to poke up that long question that's been hiding at the back of his head, "So… do you still hate them?" he asked softly, more like a whisper. Ash took a sip off his hot coco and sighed. His eyes were more focused onto the ceiling rather than his friend. He knew that the boy would ask him sooner or later but he had time to conjure up an answer, "I wouldn't give the word hate Gary… but I guess you could put it that way" he replied not even looking at him.

"Well… I don't blame you. I would've given them the same reaction as well" Gary sat back on his chair in a relaxing position, "I mean… being sent to jail for a whole year with a false accusation was kind of rough. I didn't expect my grand father to be a part of it to" Ash's facial expression showed a visible anger and slight hint of sadness moving in from time to time, "Sorry… I guess I shouldn't have brought it up"

"No it's ok. I actually needed someone to talk about it anyway. It was hard at first… but after awhile, I begin to think less and less about it" Ash gave out his trade mark smile and finished the last drop in his mug of hot coco. "Oh and by the way. I've been meaning to give this to you (Ash handed Gary a small present box) Thank you for getting me out of there… Gary" The moment Gary opened up the box, he would've died of a severe choking and heart attack if he could. Inside the small box was a badge, but it wasn't just any badge. It was the master badge! The one every trainer have been dying to get.

"Ash, I can't accept this!" the young Pokemon Master gestured him with his hand, "Don't sweat it Gary. You're just as good a trainer as I am. Please take it. It's the least I could do after you saved me" Gary looked at the badge before focusing his gaze on his friend. Was this all true? Was Ash really giving away one of his most prized possessions just to pay him back for all that he did for him? Gary would probably blush on this kind of situation, but he was a strong kid so he was able to keep his image up. He gave out a weak smile and said, "Thanks Ash. I accept it, but don't be getting any funny ideas. I'm still gonna have a rematch against you!" the boy did his usual rival pose which caught the attention of some of the workers. Ash laughed, "Well that's the Gary we all know and love"

Gary: "You know me too well Ash… hehehehe"

There was a silence after the laugh. After knowing each other since birth, these two ex-rivals have been doing nothing but hang around, chatting and all the normal things normal friends should do. Gary gave Ash a worried glare before reaching out for a small box in his bag, "That reminds me… I got you these when I got back from Shinou" he handed Ash the box, which was more of a medicine container. Ash's eyes widened as he knew what they were, "Gary… how did you---"

"Know?" Gary smirked, cutting Ash off of his sentence, "To tell you the truth, I kind of discovered it by accident. When I was in the hospital in Pewter city, I saw your files and decided to take a little peek. That's when I discovered you had…… a body failure" Ash was silent and amazed that his friend managed to find out about his secret condition. He glared at the box of expensive pain killers and let out a frown. "When did it happen?" Gary asked. Ash still kept his calm and remained silent. His grip on the box became tighter as he tried to suppress his anger even more. "It's from that hell hole… wasn't it?" Ash nodded slowly in reply.

Ash: "Did you tell my mom and… dad?"

Gary: "Nope… the only ones who know about it now are you, me and the doctor in Pewter city. I figured that, if you wanted to hide this from everyone else I thought I should just keep my mouth shut".

The young Pokemon master was surprised to hear what his friend was saying. For a moment there he thought that everyone in Pallet town would know of it by now. He turned up a smile and said, "Thank you… Gary" his rival blushed and looked the other way crossing his arm and sneered, "Shut up… I was only doing cuz I owe you a favor, nothing else hmph!"

**NO THIS IS NOT YAOI!!!!**

A few minutes later after their little chat, Scott came by with a whole plate full of Kanto's delicacies, "Well Gary, your next challenge would be the battle pyramid. I uploaded the information on your Pokedex so you shouldn't have any problem finding it… for now"

Gary: "What do you mean by that?"

Ash/Scott: "Oh you'll see… hehehhehe"

**(Time skip 4 hours)**

"Well guys, I'm off to the Battle Pyramid!" Gary waved at his friends as he goes off into the horizon. "Good luck Gary. Have a safe journey!" Ash cheered his friend along with his Pikachu, Scott and Anabel. Once the challenger was finally out of sight, Scott turned to Ash with a wide smile on his face, "Well, I'm off to meet up with Brendan. I have a strong feeling that Gary's gonna have a hard time beating him. I'll see you in a week Anabel" the chubby Hawaiian man entered his corvette and drove off the other way.

Anabel: "Well, I guess it's just us now huh?"

Ash: "Yeah… let's go home"

Anabel: "Excuse me?"

Ash: "I mean… your house! Ahehehehe"

Anabel: "That's ok Ash. My doors are open for you any time, any day. Take it as a personal 24 hours life time invitation. Come on, there's a Pokemart close by and I could really use a new pair of shoes"

Ash: "Why would you need a new pair of shoes? You already have 12 pairs of boots back home!"

Anabel: "Oh hush hush! Now come on! I always wanted a carrier boy"

**(Somewhere along the road)**

"Boy oh boy, that Ashy boy never change I'll tell you that" Gary said to no one particular. He was having a good time strolling along the woods on his own. He wasn't much of a talker unless it was either with some of his friends or unless he was given no other choice. He placed his newly acquired Master Badge on his jacket which could be seen by anyone from almost every direction. Passing travelers would see him and would either bow in respect or be struck with great awe.

Just as Gary was enjoying his solitude in the woods, his cell phone began to ring. He answered it, "Hello, this is Gary speaking"

"Gary, is that you?" it was professor Oak who was on the other line, "I've been trying to contact you all week now. Where are you?" Gary gritted his teeth slightly as he heard the voice of the man he once respected. Ash may still have some respect towards his grandfather but Gary was a whole different story. To see and hear the man who was once his role model send one of his friends, heck! His best friend to prison was… was just too much to bear.

Gary quickly composed himself and decided to act normally instead of being harsh. Besides, he was Ash's new father after all. "Yeah, hi gramps" he said in a dead bored tone, "I'm heading towards Pewter city right now. I'm getting my last Frontier Brain symbol"

P. Oak: "Well I'm happy for you Gary, but you should really call once in awhile. I was really worried if something might have happened to you---"

Gary: "Sorry professor… I guess I was a little caught up with training that I forgot. Oh and by the way, I met Ash a few minutes ago. He's staying in an old town hotel not far from the city"

P. Oak: "Well, I don't think he'll be going anywhere soon. I heard there's another blizzard coming up north. You be careful on your journey too, ok?"

Gary: "Ok professor. I'll call you again some other time" _"Hopefully never…"_

Just when Gary hung up his cell phone, the sky suddenly darkened as if something bad was about to happen. Gary was a little into the super natural and sci-fi things so something this unusual would really catch his attention, "What the hell?" he muttered under his breath while looking at the dark clouds assembling right above him. The wind gave out some sort of sickening aura that would make anyone nauseous. He covered his nose and mouth so that he wouldn't get the smell in the air, "Something bad is going to happen… and I hope it's not me" Just as soon as the wind stopped, a black car suddenly ran past him. Gary's eyes made contacts with the driver but he couldn't get a clear picture of how he looked like. The weird part about that, was because his car had a big giant dent on the door, which could've been caused by some sort Pokemon attack. "Who the heck was that?" he wondered.

**(Time skip, Night time) (At Anabel's house)**

After purchasing snacks, clothes and a new pair of shoes, Ash and Anabel made their way back home carry equally large bags together. When they got inside, Anabel decided to prepare dinner, "Hey Ash, I'll go and make dinner. Why don't you put all of these in my room and I'll arrange them later" the boy just nodded in head reply because he was too tired to even complain. He took the package and left them all inside the master bed room. Pikachu and Espeon decided to have a little game by playing with several yarn balls. It was strange because Espeon looked like a cat and Pikachu looked like the mouse. It was a wonder why cats like yarn ball but after awhile, Pikachu begins to understand why.

Ash took off his jacket and head watch a small game show on TV. Apparently in that show, when you answer the questions wrong, you get zapped by a random electrical type Pokemon. The boy laughed at the constant easy questions that they were supposed to answer. In all his life the boy didn't just become a Pokemon master because of his skills of Pokemon battles. He also learned many things during his travels in the outside world. He learned the history of very important people in the younger days. He learned geometry, mathematics and many other things during his adventures and now you could say he had he IQ of a little genius.

"Ash, the food is ready" Anabel broke his train of thoughts as she placed the dishes on the table. Once the two of them began to dig in, the phone began to ring. "Who could be calling at a time like this?" she said to no one in particular. She got up from her and answered the phone, "Hello, this is Anabel Charlton speaking, may I know who this is?" "……" there was no reply. Anabel could hear some heavy breathing from the other side so she figured that there was someone there, "Hello? Is someone there? Who is this?" the breathing on the other side became heavier and more sadistic. She tried using the video on the phone, but alas, all that she could see was darkness. "Hello? Who am I---" before she could finish her sentence, the phone line went dead. It creep her out for a moment, but she figured that the person would just call again.

"Who was that?" Ash asked while taking a sip from his glass. Anabel hung up the phone and resumed her dinner along with her friend, "Don't know. It's probably a wrong number" they decided to ignore it and continued what they were doing. Pikachu and Espeon had their usual Pokechow and time couldn't be any better. The snow storm was finally calming down according to the weather man on TV but for some reason, Anabel wanted it to go on. She didn't want Ash to leave her. She didn't want to be alone… but was living alone for many years already. She managed to strive even without her parent's support. Being a Battle Frontier member surely had its merits.

When it was nearly time for bed, Anabel decided to unpack all of the things she bought at the Pokemart. She put the new clothes in her closet and the new shoes in her rack. Once everything was in place, she noticed one plastic bag that didn't belong to her. She checked the contents and noticed that it was mostly boy's things, "Hey… this must be Ash's things. I'd better give it to him" she said to herself. She giggled when she looked at what the boy had purchased. It was mostly man's stuff but there were also some strange novels and books at the bottom. They were exactly the same books she had in her drawer. They were mostly romance and dramatic tales of love, hatred, jealousy and anger. Anabel never knew Ash had such a sensitive side but I guess that's just one of his hidden traits that he doesn't show to just anyone.

She ran down to the guest room and opened up the door without knocking, "Ash, I brought you your---" her sentence stopped when she noticed that Ash was only wearing his undies. The two of them starred at each other for awhile in silence. Her heart began to pump up rapidly and her she could've sworn she wasn't breathing for a whole minute. Her eyes quickly scanned the boy's body which would be the dream of many teenage girls out there. By the time she regained control, she screamed, "I'm sorry to disturb you! I should've knocked! Excuse me!" she went outside and slammed the door so hard that it nearly broke to pieces.

Anabel placed her hand in her chest and felt the beating of heart increase by about ten folds. Her face was red as images of Ash's body flooded through her mind like wild fire. No one would ever imagine Ash's masculine body. He may be a bit scrawny but if you take a closer look, he actually had a lot of muscles built in him. The abs on his stomach could take a women's breath away and his tanned slender chest was like that of a wrestler. _"What am I thinking!?"_ Anabel shook away the though as she used every bit of strength she had in her body to calm herself down, "That… that is not the body of a child. It was… the body of an athlete! She waited for about two minutes before deciding to know on the door. "Come in" said Ash on the other side.

"Umm… sorry about that" she apologized.

Ash: "Don't worry about it. I should've locked the door so it's kind of my fault too hehehehe. So what can I do for you Anabel?"

Anabel: "Huh? Oh yeah! Here… you left this in my room (hands him the plastic bag)"

Ash reached out to grab the bag, but in the process he also held Anabel's hand. Their hearts raced even faster than before. Their bottled up emotions began to spill as they could not contain it anymore. Not wanting to ruin their friendship, Anabel decided to leave, "Bye. Sorry to disturb you!"

"Anabel, wait!" he was too late. She was already gone. The boy just sat on the bed as he tried to calm himself down with his own book. He wasn't reading it. He was slamming his head on it trying to remove that painful emotion away. "Darn it Ash. You can't fall for her… you can't! You…… can't" his mental denial was now proving ineffective now. His emotions were so full that the moment he releases it, it would prove to be… catastrophic.

Anabel was also having the same thoughts. Her heart was telling her to go to him but her mind was controlling her body. If she saw him again… she wouldn't be able to restrain herself anymore. She held her favorite Chansey pillow and squeezed it tightly, letting all of her love and lust poured into its fluffiness. _"I can't believe it…… I'm actually falling in love… with him"_ she finally admitted her heart's desire to herself, "But I can't… I can't do it" To control her bottled up emotions, Anabel used her telekinetic abilities to put herself to sleep. It wasn't a helpful process, but as long as she was able to get some shut eye, she wouldn't mind. Although she would feel a slight head ache tomorrow morning.


	8. Ghost of The Present

**Chapter 8: Ghost of The Present**

Gary walked into the Battle Pyramid to face his latest challenge to the Battle Frontier hall of fame. Now he knew what Ash and Scott were talking about when they said that it won't be hard to find… for now. The pyramid was actually a moving floating vehicle that roamed throughout the countryside for years. "Hello?" the boy called out in the dark hoping to get some sort of reply, but sadly there wasn't any. "Hello? I'm looking for the Pyramid King. Umm…"

"Who are you!?" a voice snuck from behind making Gary leaped a few centimeters off the ground. The man wore some sort green adventurous attire which matched his personality perfectly. He also had a backpack which was similar to Gary but except much bigger. "I asked who are you!?" the man shouted again from the dark.

Gary: "I… I… I'm Gary Oak from Pallet town! I'm looking for the… the… the pyramid king of the Frontier Brain"

Man: "Are you the challenger? (Gary nods) (lights open) It's nice to meet you again Gary"

Gary: "Hey wait a minute…… I know you! You're Brendan! I saw you in court a year ago!"

Brendan: "It's nice to have one of Ash's friends remember my name. I didn't expect you to be our new challenger of the month"

Gary: "Well, I guess is full of surprises huh? Anyway, on to business. Brendan, I challenge you for the final symbol of the Battle Frontier!"

Brendan: "I accept… but there's a bit of a problem hehehe. I had a fight with some wild Pokemon during my travels. I'll need to send them to the nearest Pokemon center before we can have a proper battle, ok?"

Gary: "Sure, I can wait"

Brendan: "Excellent! While we're waiting… please tell me. How's Ash doing? I haven't anything about him for quite awhile"

The boy's face soured a little making an impression that it wasn't really a topic he wanted to talk about. It was uncomfortable just thinking about it. "He's fine I guess. He's staying in a town near Celadon city for a little while"

"I see…" Brendan was satisfied with his answer.

"Oh… by the way…" the Pyramid king gazed back onto Gary, "Thanks for helping out in court that time. If it wasn't for you I didn't think I would be able to get Ash out of jail"

"Hehehehe… no need to thank me. I just can't stand having one of the Battle Frontier challenger staying in jail" they both gave out a weak laugh, "Well… if you say he's fine then I guess he is fine. Please give him my regards the next time you meet him"

"It would be a pleasure Brendan. Just make sure you give me a good fight" Gary was silently provoking his opponent but Brendan wasn't gonna fall for such cheap tricks like that. However… something did catch his attention. A badge on Gary's jacket reflected the ray of the light perfectly with its jewels and diamonds making him squint a little.

"Gary… since when did you become a Pokemon Master?" he asked jokingly

"Huh? Oh this thing? Ash gave this to me. He said that he and I are equals as trainers"

"Heh… I believe he's right…"

**(Back in Anabel's house)**

The morning had never been better at Anabel's lodge. Though the snow still refused to stop the area had return to its natural state. Some bird Pokemon were singing their tune at the bird house which Anabel built as a small habitat. Many Pokemon have also gone into a state of hibernation to keep them from the cold. As the morning sun glittered through thick clouds offering very little heat, Anabel and Ash thought that it was time to remove the snow out of the main road.

Shovel plow shovel

Those familiar words were plunging themselves back into the boy's head like a machine. Ash had done this many times during the old days with Mr. Mime back at home. His mom always wanted a clean road for any unsuspecting visitors. Aipom and Espeon were also helping but mostly… they were just playing in the snow with Pikachu.

"Well, I think that's all of it!" Ash declared as he plowed the last of the snow to the side of the road. They both looked around to see if they missed any spot along the front of the house just in case. "Yeah, I think that's all of them. Come on Ash, I treat you guys in for some hot coco in the house" the Pokemon raised their hands/paws with joy, "Alright! Hot coco here we come! Come on everybody, let's go back into the house!" Ash declared as he threw the shovel next to the pot of flowers. Just before they could even take one step towards the lodge (I think that's what they're called now) a sudden rumble came from the bush behind them.

Ash: "What was that?"

Anabel: "Yeah… I heard it too (Pika?) (bush tremble)"

Ash: "Be careful. It could be a wild Pokemon"

Anabel: "It's coming from that bush over there"

The two of them crept closer towards the bush hoping not to scar whatever was inside. They took step by step making no sudden movements unless necessary. The bush trembled again and again making a louder noise. And when the creature decided to pop its head… the two humans fell in shock. It was an Eevee. A cute little Pokemon that is adored by many people in the world. It was famed for his cuteness and abilities as a Pokemon in battle.

"Is that… an Eevee?" Ash said in question of the Pokemon. Anabel nodded in reply but as they looked closer to the Pokemon in question, they realized that was limping on one leg. "It looks like its hurt!" Ash gently held onto its limping leg hoping not to squeeze any more pain as it is and quickly observe on what might have cause this.

Anabel rubbed the back of the Eevee's ear relaxing its muscle and relieve it of any stress, "How is it Ash?" she asked the boy.

"Not good. It looks like its legs have been twisted. We're going to have to get some bandages and hold it together so it won't hurt anymore" the boy knows his medical science. After being in a Pokemon journey for such a long time he must've picked up some tips from Brock, "Anabel, let's get this Eevee into the house and let it warm itself. I'll grab some bandages and something to hold its leg together" the girl, not trusting her mouth simply nodded in reply.

Click…

The whole family went back into the house immediately after they knew about the little Pokemon's condition. Once they were in they each went on to their respective task. Ash grabbed some bandages and started working on the leg. Anabel placed some nice warm towels to keep the little guy from freezing. Pikachu, Aipom and Espeon did what they could to cheer Eevee up. The moment went by without much disturbance. Although Eevee might not look like it was in pain, inside, it was suffering a lot. After several painful and tiring process of cleaning the wound, it was finally done. Ash may not be a doctor but when he finally patched up the wound it was already well on its way to a complete recovery.

The boy went on to place an extra layer of bandages just in case some blood leaked out. Once the little Pokemon realized that it was in good hands, it decided to let out a silent moan as a sign of relief. "Well… that should do it. If that bandage holds on for a few days I think it'll be good" Ash spoke out as he wiped the sweat off of his forehead. The process of healing a broken bone was more exhausting then one could even think.

"Here Ash" Anabel handed him the coco she promised. Ash couldn't quite put it, but the girl manages to make her coco just the way he liked it. Two cups of sugar and stirred to perfection. It was as if she could read his mind or something. "Wow Anabel, this coco is great!" the girl blushed in response.

Anabel: "Thanks…… so how's Eevee?"

Ash: "It's just tired after all the procedure. If we let it rest for a day or two, I think he'll be able to walk again (gluck gluck) Ahhh…"

Click…

That strange sound made its appearance again. Ash scanned to room to see where it was coming from.

Anabel: "What's wrong Ash?"

Ash: "Nothing… I thought I heard something click"

He decided to ignore it and continued what he was doing. With nothing better to do, the two of them decided to take turns watching over the Eevee if anything should happen.

**(Back in Pallet Town)**

While Delia was preparing dinner for the professor and herself (and of course Mr. Mime) the phone suddenly rang. "Honey, can you get that for me" Samuel Oak complied and immediately answered the call from the living room. "Hello, this is the Oak's residence. Samuel Oak speaking. Who am I---"

"Hi professor" the voice on the other side cut him off, "It's me, Tracey!" the video screen popped out, showing the image of a teenage boy in a green shirt and a red head band. "I'm calling from the Hoenn region right now"

"Oh hey there Tracey. I haven't seen you for a long time now. What are you doing in Hoenn?" the professor smiled up to him

"I'm with professor Birch in Littleroot town. He said he might have a theory on the Pokemon evolution cycle. I'm going to find out if there's anything I can do to help"

"That's great Tracey, but when are you going to come back to Pallet Town? It's been pretty lonely here without you"

They both let out a good laugh, but it soon vanished when Tracey's face saddened, "I'm sorry professor…… is he… there?" he asked in a pleading tone with some hope that the boy he asked for would not be there. Samuel's face turned sour as well but somehow he was able to keep his smile up, "No Tracey. Ash isn't here right now. I sent him on an errand near Celadon city. He's currently taking a break from all that's been happening"

"I see…… well… I guess I'll see you some time next month professor"

"I hope to see you too Tracey. And good luck with your research" he hung up the phone with a defining ring sound. His hearted sank deep within his intestines as the mere thought of the past was mentioned. Even Tracey felt guilty to everything that had happened last year. The events that were put into great motion on that court in Cerulean city was a time none of them would soon forget.

"Honey, lunch is ready" Delia shouted from the kitchen. The professor took his time as he ran a train of guilt through his complex brain. He was going to reply but when he looked back at his wife's smile…… he could barely even contain the tears that were flowing through his eyes. "Delia…"

"Hmm? Is something wrong professor?"

"I… I…" tears were now openly coming out of his eyes but he would not show it. He confessed silently to himself, _"I don't deserve it…… I don't deserve her…… my goodness, I don't even deserve to be happy at all!"_

"Nothing Delia… nothing at all"

**(Littleroot Town Pokemon center)**

Tracey hung up the phone after he had his talk with the professor. There was a small gift lying on the side of his chair. It wasn't an expensive gift like Brock but it was still nice nonetheless. A slight bit of anger burned into himself as the images of the past continued to haunt him even more. Why did he go against him? Was he not his friend? Did Ash really looked like a person who would commit such a crime? Was he that blind that he couldn't see it?

**(Flashback, a few months ago, in Pallet Town)**

Tracey was packing up for Pokemon research journey around Kanto, Johto and Hoenn. But as he was loading up his supplies onto his backpack, he noticed Ash outside along with his other Pokemon gazing out into the open plains. It had only been a few months since he was released from prison but Tracey could see that being in jail for a whole year really broke the boy's will power and spirit. The emptiness in his eyes, the pain on his back… the lashes…… they were too hard to even be mentioned.

The boy was not just broken… he was scared and bruised so badly that it would take a life time to recover. Tracey wanted to go and apologize, but right now… he was more afraid than ever. Ash's Pokemon wouldn't let anyone except Delia, Ash and Gary touch them or even let anyone else come within five feet of their master. Their hatred was extended mentally and emotionally through the Ash's tears and silent cries he gave out at night. If anyone dared to hurt Ash again… there would be no one… and absolutely nothing that would even let them consider mercy.

**(End of flashback)**

In a rare sight of rage and anger, Tracey threw away the gift and walked out of the Pokemon center with a heavy heart... and perhaps a guilty soul.

A young woman in her late twenties was typing on a computer in a dark office room somewhere in Varidian city. She had a long dark hair with a Haunter ribbon tied on top. Her nails were as long as witches in the middle age and her teeth were sharp as a vampire you would see in movies. Just when she was about to press the 'enter' button, her phone suddenly rang. "Hello…" she said in a very seductive tone, "(phone gibberish) Oh it's you. What do you want now? (phone gibberish) I hope you're not making this up because if you do… I'll (angry phone gibberish!) Really… show me" her printer began activating on its own. And by the time the pictures came out, she gave out a wild and evil grin.

"Hmmm… I love it… (phone gibberish) But we can't use this. (unintelligible phone gibberish) Don't be angry darling. I'm only speaking the truth. Your could just be easily coincidental. They can't even be called dirt, if you know what I mean. (phone gibberish) Why don't you get me some real pictures… then we'll talk. If you can't get anymore pictures than these… then you won't be getting a single penny from me. Understood? (calm phone gibberish) Wonderful… I'll see you soon… darling" she hung up the phone gently with her witch like hands. The pictures she had on her hand were photos of Anabel and Ash… eating, talking and laughing with each other. She giggled for awhile before crumpling them and burning them into her fire place.

"Hmm… this just might make it to the new headlines… hehehehe" her seductive giggle was so intimidating that Satan himself would be peeing in his pants like a wussy.

**(Back in Anabel's house later that day)**

Ash was having a nice nap with the wounded Eevee in the living room. The only sound there was the cracking of the fire wood in the fire place. Everything was so silent and peaceful that not even world war III would be able to wake them up. Anabel came back out of the bathroom to see the cute scene between the boy and his Pokemon. Pikachu was lying on his shoulder while Aipom was on the mattress snoring into the evening. Ash's soft cuddly face lay bare on the resting place on the chair giving it a very comfortable position. His cheeks still had the remains of his childish baby fat which she thought they were kind of cute. The little Zs under his eyes were his identity signatures making anyone recognize him in an instant. Ash usually had his mom or Mr. Mime put makeup to hide those trademarks so that he wouldn't be harassed by crazed fans who would want a piece of his T-shirt or a strain of his hair.

Anabel giggled as she placed a blanket over her guest. There was no other word for it. She would call Ash her friend, guest or visitor but no matter how you would look at it, that boy was practically living with her! He cooks, clean, walk the Pokemon and do all the necessary house chores. He would truly make for an ideal husband one day.

Whoa! _"What was I thinking?! Husband? I'm not even old enough to be officially married yet!"_ Anabel shook away the thought, hoping that she would never hear it ever again. She then sat on the chair opposite of Ash over the table. Her eyes felt a little weak from all the moving around this afternoon. She had been bringing warm and cold water nonstop for Ash when he was taking care of that little Pokemon. When they finally stopped she literally threw the buckets away wishing that she would never see them again as long as she lived. Just when she was about to close her eyes and wander off to dream land, she noticed a strange scar on Ash's throat. It looked a bit deep and pale. The colors of his neck was a bit lighter, meaning that he just been healed recently. Perhaps he earned that scar during his travels, but if he did then it would've been one life threatening wound.

She decided to ignore it and closed her eyes to follow Ash's example, but before she could even place her tea cup on the table… a knock came through the door. "Who could that be in this hour?" she asked herself as she walked up to the peek hole on the door. "Yes? Who is it?" there was no response. The knocking had stopped and there doesn't seem to be anyone outside. Anabel gently opened the door, letting out little by little. "Hello?" she asked, but there was no reply. She fully opened the door to see no one on the other side. It was suspicious at first but when she saw the set of foot prints on the snow, she knew that someone was there. "Hmm… could it be a practical joke?" she muttered out.

Click…

A/N: Ok, now that all the plot is laid out I will now begin the story is a very difficult manner. The next chapter shall rock your world people!


	9. Happy Birthday? Oh o

**Chapter 9: Happy Birthday? O oh…**

"Registeel is no longer able to battle! The round and match goes to Gary Oak of Pallet town!" said the referee as he raised his hand on Gary's side of the ring. He had just battled against Brandon for the first time and he had already put up a good match against him. The boy had only used two of his Pokemon to defeat all of Brendan's Regis and gave him a quick win. He yelled up in the air a cry of victory against his opponent as he returned his Pokemon into their Pokeballs.

"That was an excellent battle Gary. You truly fought with great skill and courage just like your friend Ash. He was right when he said you were the same as him" Brandon commented him as he picked up a pin from his pocket, "And with your victory, I am honored to give you the Brave symbol thus completing your challenge of the Battle Frontier!"

Gary held the symbol in his hand and gazed upon its beauty. The symbol was made of pure gold and shaped nicely into place. He felt so proud about himself and his Pokemon that he could just leap into the air and stay there forever. But before he could say anything else, Scott came by with his usual smile on his face, "Excellent match Gary. I see the rumors about you have not proven wrong"

Gary: "Thanks Scott but now that I'm done, I think I'll be heading back home now"

Scott: "But you haven't heard my offer yet"

Gary: "Offer?"

Scott: "Didn't I tell you?"

Gary: "You haven't told me anything except the part that you were actually the boss of the Battle Frontier hehehe"

Scott: "Well that much is true. But anyway, every time when someone beats the Frontier Brain challenge, they are offered a position in the Battle Frontier!"

Gary: "Whoa! Really? You mean I get to have my own facility?"

Scott: "Yup! But the problem is… the new battle facility isn't coming along too well. We've been having problems with the budget and the construction"

Brandon: "I've heard about this new facility. What are you going to call it?"

Scott: "We're not sure ourselves. We have the Battle Arena, Battle Factory, Battle Pike, Battle Palace, Battle Tower, Battle Dome and of course the Battle Pyramid. What's next? The Battle Mobile?"

Brandon: "Well that certainly is a problem. So what do you say Gary? Would you like to become one of the Frontier Brain?"

Gary: "As good as it might sound. I can't. I still have to defeat Ash in his own game. Maybe in a few more years, but keep a position open for me"

Scott: "Hey, no problem. See you later Gary and don't forget to come and pick up your symbols tomorrow (Gary leaves) (Scott looks at his watch) Oh my, is that the time? We need to hurry Brendan. We wouldn't want to keep our little lady waiting"

Brandon: "Hmm? Oh yeah I almost forgot! Parker!"

Assistant: "Yes sir?"

Brandon: "Set a course for Cerulean city. I still to buy a gift for her"

Assistant: "At once sir!"

Scott: "Oh boy, will she be surprised"

**(Back in Anabel's house)**

The two teens overslept that night. It was about 3 AM in the morning and no one was awake to cook breakfast. What woke Ash up was the sound of howling coming from the Eevee on his lap. The little critter was now able to walk, heck it was able to leap a good distance without hurting itself too much. The boy stretched out his arms and legs and yawned into the night. The crack along the fire had ceased for about an hour ago if he was no mistaken. There were still some sparks and cracking sounds but it could barely be heard unless you have some sort of super sonic hearing. "Hey little fella, you feeling better now?" Ash asked the Eevee. It just barked back in reply. The sound that the little Pokemon was making could be equivalent to the bark of a puppy or something similar to that.

After noticing the moon high above the window, Ash knew that he had to prepare dinner and fast. He wouldn't want to go anywhere on an empty stomach. He quietly snuck passed Anabel and his other Pokemon towards the kitchen and began making some instant meals. The little Eevee bark out from below signaling that he too also wanted something to eat. Ash smiled and quickly filled a bowl with Pokechow. "Eat up little fella. You'll need all the strength you can get teehee" he then poured drinking water onto another bowl beside the little Pokemon. "Hmm… would Anabel like pork or chicken?" he asked himself as he ran through a selection of instant meals. They were the 'put-in-the-microwave' meals so he had a hard choice. With no one to help him with the selection he just randomly picked one.

**(Back in Pallet Town)**

The Samuel Oak and his wife had just finished dinner about two minutes ago. After a wonderful meal by Delia the professor lost his feeling to continue with his little research project. He couldn't help feeling guilty about himself about what had happened that time. The sound of the hammer of the judge, the debate, the argument, everything. No matter how much he tried, the memories of those dreams would haunt him to the end of his grave. The man could barely get a wink of sleep when he finally made his way to his bed.

When Ash first moved into his new house, the professor would hear silent sobs coming out of his room next door. It was frightening and yet heart breaking to hear the cries of a broken boy. But not just any broken boy… an innocent boy. A boy who was condemned by his and many other people's words and actions to the cell he thought he would never see in his entire life. Samuel tried to close his eyes but when he does he would see Ash yelling at him saying that it was all his fault. He could see the frown, the gritting of his teeth, the clenching of his fist and the anger in his eyes. The professor never meant to hurt him, but the event that happened in that particular time and date changed everything about the boy.

Ash would listen to the professor's requests and orders but that was just because he was his new father. All of the boy's Pokemon would only eat if Delia gives them the food and if they could get a chance, they would pull pranks against him and Tracey when no one was looking.

"Honey?" the professor's nightmare was gladly ended with the sound of his wife. "Delia…" the woman was already in her PJs and ready for bed, but after seeing her husband toss and turn so vigorously it made her worried.

"Is something wrong professor?" the man was quiet. He couldn't bear to look at her in the eyes. How could he? He doesn't deserve her! "It's about Ash isn't it?" she asked in a sweet tone. Samuel just nodded in reply. Delia knew that he would be guilty about what happened but having nightmares about it was far too much of a punishment for her to ask. She sat beside her love and hugged him with a gentle kiss as a bonus. "You worry too much Samuel. Now come on. I'll tuck you into bed" the professor reluctantly complied as the woman sang her lullaby into the night. It was the song she used to sing to Ash whenever he couldn't sleep. It proved effective until he finally decided to go on his Pokemon journey. As the moon shone brightly in the sky… Delia tried her best… to remove those painful memories away from her mind.

_I'm innocent! I didn't do it I swear!_

_Ash!_

_Mom!_

_Ash, don't worry!_

_Mom…I never… I would never do that! I swear!_

Those words and sounds echoed through her ear repeating the crime this small town had done.

**(Back in Anabel's house)**

"Hmm… looks like Anabel won't be waking up anytime soon" Ash said to his Pikachu as they both chow down on their instant meals. It was bright early in the morning and the sun wasn't up yet but Ash didn't want to go back to sleep. Every time he was able to close his eyes, the visions of his past memories would haunt him again and again and this time it was worst… much worst. In his nightmares, there would usually be three to nine visions at a time and most of them would be far more brutal than its previous one. The boy tried to remove the visions by taking sleeping pills which he found out to be very addictive. He tossed and turned his head to shake away the thought hoping that someday these visions may finally go away.

"Pika pikapi!" Pikachu pointed at Ash's pain killers which he placed at the edge of the table. The boy looked up and quickly got a glass of water before getting some into his mouth, "Thanks Pikachu, I almost forgot about that hehehe" he tried to brighten up the mood by laughing but Pikachu knows his master better than anyone. If Ash does not take his pain killers daily, he would succumb to a process of unending pain and torment. The doctor could not find out why he was experiencing such pain but the symptoms aren't recognized by any decease or virus. It was more like the body was damaging itself and the only way to counteract it would be these pain killers. With no possible name to give it, Ash decided to call it 'Body Failure' as a failing in his bodies systems.

"Hmm?" just when he finished his early morning meal he noticed a letter fell from Anabel's pocket when she shifted into a more comfortable position on the chair. He walked up and picked it up from the ground. The letter was already open so what was there to stop him from reading it?

_Dear Anabel_

_How are you sweetie? Me and your father are having a great time here in Varidian city. Unfortunately I have to leave with your father to Shinou on some business trip by his company. Someone has to keep an eye on him when he's drinking. Well anyway, we know how you hate celebrating your birthday (September 15 just in case you forgot like that time when you were 12) with such a large party so we thought that it might be a good idea to send you a present instead. Hope you like it and please sweetie, try and get a boyfriend already teeheee. Well that's all I guess. I'll see you next year when you're ready to quit the Battle Frontier and move back with us._

_Yours always_

_Mom and Dad_

"It's her birthday? Hey Piakchu, tomorrow is Anabel's birthday! (PIKA?!) Shhhh! You'll wake her up (pikachu) I got an idea. Let's go to town in the morning and buy her a gift. Whatdaya say?" (Pika!) the little yellow mouse raised its head and paws in agreement and cheered out loud. "Yeah, it'll just be like the time when we surprised Gary hehehehe. I'll cook her a special meal and buy her a nice gift. But what would she want? (pika-chu…) Hmm… well she has all the clothes a girl would want. She has all the jewels and diamonds and maybe even more so…" the boy walked back and forth around the kitchen thinking on what to give her. What would you give a girl who has almost everything?

"Pikpika pikapi!" Pikachu quickly jumped out of his master's shoulders and rushed towards his backpack. From there the little yellow mouse picked up a small long box which was well hidden behind all the junk he was carrying. Ash's eyes widened so much that it was a miracle that they didn't fall off from their sockets. What Pikachu held in his mouth was probably the most expensive and rarest object the boy ever afforded in his life. Ash hesitated to hold the box at first but when he did…… it was like a wave of emotions and memories flushed back into his head like a typhoon. There was some comfort coming from the box but pain followed behind as well. They boy had hoped that he could've just threw away the stupid box into the open sea and never see it again but for some strange reason… he couldn't.

What contained inside was a pendant unlike any other you would ever see in this world. A beautiful pendant made entirely out of pure gold held together by a silver string that shone brilliantly against the light. But what made the pendant most attracting was the center piece. A blue gem (aquamarine) flawlessly made into a shape of a tear drop was placed at the center giving out the almost awe striking mood. "Misty…" the boy said in his mind.

_How could you Ash?!_

_I would never do that!_

_You liar!_

_I'm not lying!_

_I hate you! Good bye!_

_Misty, wait! Don't leave me here!_

Those words would probably haunt him for the rest of his lifetime. Ash once again tried to shake away the pain by holding tighter on the box. "Thanks Pikachu" he said to his friend, "But I don't think this would make a nice for Anabel. I'll get her something else when we get into town" he immediately put the black box back into his backpack and hid it deep within all of his clothing and other necessities. "Come on buddy. If we leave now, I think we can be the first customers in the mall!" and with that, the boy left silently through the early dawn leaving a note behind to tell Anabel where he had gone.

**(Somewhere along the road to Varidian city)**

Gary was whistling his victory tune happily after defeating Brandon in a battle of the Brave symbol. He had now proven to be a much more competitive player than all the trainers around the world and has even gotten himself a recommendation to become a gym leader by several regions already. He declined all of them because he said that he was still too young to settle down in one place.

He chews upon an apple as he walks towards the city of Varidian where he would take the earliest bus home. But on his way to the bus station, he encountered probably one of the last people he wanted to meet, "Gary?" stated Brock. Gary turned his head around to meet the twenty year old man but when he knew who it was, he felt like he just wanted to take a step back and walk away. "Oh… hey Brock" he forced out a cheery tone.

"Hey Gary where've you been? I haven't seen you in ages!"

Gary shrugged, "Oh you know… here and there and… stuff" his tone was somewhat happy yet deep inside it held a deeper meaning. He didn't want to talk to anybody that dared doubted his friend. In truth actually… he would do almost anything just to give that man one good punch at the jaw…… or any part of his body.

Brock: "I heard from professor Oak that you went to challenge the Battle Frontier. How did it go?"

Gary: _"Sheesh! Doesn't this guy ever shut up?"_ "Ok I guess… I already got all the symbols, so I'm heading home now"

Brock: "Wow that was quick. I remembered how Ash and I used to battle against Brandon. He trained so hard that he nearly dropped hahaha"

Gary: "Yeah yeah I heard that one before" _"From Ash himself you wimp"_

Brock: Well anyway. I still need to deliver some packages. Hey, you should stop by my breeding ground in Pewter city. There might be some Pokemon that you might want to adopt"

Brock had just recently owned a Pokemon breeding facility in Pewter city. He had already dropped his Pokemon gym and moved his whole family to the new ground and to tell you the truth he could never have been happier with himself. But after all these time…… he couldn't help but feel a bit guilty of owning the place.

Gary himself was having the same idea. Once he saw the pain in the man's eyes his anger and hatred for him disappeared. _"If these people are feeling guilty on what they've done, then I think that's punishment enough"_ he thought silently as he made a little smile. Gary knew why Brock was out on delivery. The man never liked staying at his new breeder center unless he had nothing else to do or unless it was absolutely necessary.

As a matter of fact, Brock wasn't the one who bought the place. He didn't have the money to even afford his own house.

**(A few weeks after Ash had won his final contest Before being accused Flashback)**

Brock was silently checking on a news paper for a good location to start his breeding career. He didn't want to move out of Pewter city because all of his family and friends were there. As he scanned down the section of large warehouses on sale, he realized that they were just too far or just too pricy for his liking. At the end of the section, he sighed, "It looks like there aren't any new places for sale"

"Hey Brock, what are you doing?" Ash said with a yawn at the end of his sentence. He was on his way to Pallet town so he stopped by and stayed at Brock's house in Pewter city for the day. It took the man a while to noticed his friend looking at him dumbly, "Oh hey Ash. I was just looking for something that's all" he dropped the newspaper and quickly head towards the kitchen to make breakfast. When the man was out of sight Ash decided to see what he was looking at. The man was as obvious as an apple on an apple tree. Brock was definitely looking at the selection of land for sale but all of them seemed to be a weee bit expensive. While scrolling down the line, one particular place caught Ash's attention. An expensive looking house somewhere in Pewter city, with sixteen bedrooms and a multitude of spaces was for sale somewhere nearby. It had a big lot and a pool where water Pokemon could swim. It was indeed a Pokemon breeder's choice. And it was also encircled with Brock's red marker.

Ash gave out a giggle before pulling out his cell phone and giving the land administration a call. "Hello? Yeah… I'd like to buy something in Pewter city"

**(The next day still in flashback)**

Ash leading a blind folded Brock towards an unknown location in Pewter city. "Hey Ash, would you mind telling me what this is all about?" he said with a worried tone.

"Not yet Brock. Teehee. We're almost there" they walked for another few minutes before finally stopping. Brock was glad to stop because he was afraid that he might've fallen off a cliff or something. "Ok Brock, you can take off your blindfold now" Brock did what he was told and squinted his eyes even more when the light shone across his face. His visions were a little blurry but when they finally focused, a huge WELCOME sign hung in front of him like a giant wall.

His entire family was there and they were already moving in the large mansion with all their things packed and ready. Brock was at awe. He immediately ran towards his father, "Dad! What? How? When?!" Flint shook his head, "If you want to thank someone Brock I think you should thank him" the older looking man said pointing at Ash.

Brock quickly walked back to him and looked almost utterly confused, "Ash… how did you?"

The buy just smiled in return, "Well I thought that you wanted your own breeding center so I decided to give this to you" the boy pulled out a deed from his bag and handed it to his friend. Brock could not believe it. The house of his dream and the breeding center of his dream were finally coming true. He choked out a sob and turned around so that he wouldn't let Ash see him cry, "I… I'm not crying (sob) That blindfold just made my soar (sob)" everyone including Ash gave out a laugh that would've brought joy to the whole city. And with that, they walked into the house for a well deserved party.

**(End of flashback)**

"_Yeah… back then, Ash had all the money in the world. Heck he won so many competitions that he had to separate his money into fifteen bank accounts!"_ Gary was giggling in his mind on how much money Ash had with him. Right now the boy could actually just retire happily in an apartment and live on like a king for the rest of his life.

"Well …" Brock stated, "I'll be seeing you around Gary" the boy nodded and turned back towards the south exit towards Pallet town.

**(Back at Anabel's lodge)**

"Ermmm…" Anabel yawned out as the sun light touched her face. She stretched out her arms and let out a good long moan that she was well rested. She scanned her surroundings and quickly noticed that she was still in the living room. She put aside her blanket and suddenly noticed an instant meal placed right in front of her. There was also a note under the plate which she picked up first.

_Anabel_

_I went shopping in town. Be back soon_

_Ash_

At the end of the letter was a drawing of a chibi Ash giving out a peace sign and Pikachu's paw print. Anabel giggled because this is something so typical of Ash. She quickly ate up the instant meal which was still quite warm but when she looked at the clock, she nearly choked on soup. "Oh crud is that the time?! I have to get to the Battle Tower!" She emptied the plate and quickly got dressed for work. She scribbled down the back of note Ash left her and ran out of the door In the midst of her panic, she carelessly forgot to lock the door of her house.

"Of all the time to oversleep!" she yelled out while running through the snowy dirt road.

**(At the mall)**

Ash had just withdrawn some cash from one of his fifteen bank accounts. It was great being rich and all but for some reason he didn't feel like he needed to spend them. Buying Brock his own breeding ground was just a formality. Heck he couldn't even see the difference even after he paid for it. The boy just giggled in his own thought but it was soon cut short when a very familiar voice came by.

"TWERP!!!"

Ash bolted his head towards the direction of the voice making Pikachu almost fall off his shoulder. "AH! Team Rock---" Jessie and James quickly covered up the boy's mouth and gave a shhhh sound. "I mean… hi you two hehehe" the two of them released their hands off his mouth and gave out a friendly smile. "What are you two doing here anyway?"

Jessie: "What does it look like twerp? We're shopping! (to the servants) HEY! Watch it with those, I just bought them!"

James: "What are you doing here?"

Ash: "Oh I'm out shopping… but how"

The boy took a closer look on what they were wearing. James was wearing a tuxedo and Jessie was wearing a rich lady gown which clearly matched her attitude quite well. Fortunately, James was able to inherit his parents property and to add to that, he was able to find a bottle cap collector who bought all of his collection which made him nearly as rich as Ash himself. They weren't with Team Rocket anymore, but that did not stop them from doing their old habits of stealing. Life would be boring without some risk.

Ash: "So how's everything?"

Meowth: "Well well well, if it isn't the twerp. Back from the hell hole I see (Jessie whacked him) Oww! My head! What was that for?"

Jessie: "Be quiet you idiot!"

James: "Can't you tell that nobody wants to talk about that history anymore?!"

Ash: "(he looked a bit saddened) That's ok guys. I haven't really thought about it for quite sometime. But I never thought I'd get to see you here"

Jessie: "The same goes for us twerp"

Ash: "(sweat drop) Don't you think you should stop calling me twerp already?"

Jessie: "Old habits are hard to go away kid"

Meowth: "For her at least. She still bosses us around like the old dragon ladygack!"

Jessie: "Another word out of you and you can say goodbye to your fish fillet!"

James: Ahem! Anyway, what are you doing here?" 

Ash: "Oh I'm out shopping for something. Hey, can you recommend something for a good present?"

"A present?" the two ex-bad guys said in unison. Ash rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, "Hehehehe, yeah. You see, it's my friend's birthday today so I thought I would surprise her with a little gift"

"A 'her' hehehe" Jessie said slyly to her partner. James and Meowth bowed their heads to her as if she held all the answers to that kind of question. She leaned forward to Ash, "Twerp, have you read any of my magazines yet?"

"You have a magazine?" the trio face faulted heavily on the ground.

"WHAT CAVE HAVE YOU BEEN HIDING IN IDIOT!!!" Jessie screamed out to him but she composed rather quickly. With a snap of her finger, a dozen servants came by to set up a small temporary stage for her to pose.

Servant 1: "Are you lost in your quest for love?"

Servant 2: "Are you so desperate that the world just closed up around you and cannot find you peace?"

Servant 3: "Then look no more ladies and gentlemen! Your savior is here!"

Servant 1: "All the tricks and tip of how to start off your romantic relationship can be purchased!"

Servant 3: "Got dump by your love? Then follow these three easy steps on how to get him or her back!"

Servant 2: "Looking for your perfect match? Answer these questions and we will find you your soul mate! Buy now!"

Servant 1: "Your love life is only $3.99 away!

The audience who were dumbly looking at the show clapped their hands and immediately got in line to purchase a copy of the latest issue. Ash gave out a mother of all sweat drop as Jessie came by with her personal issue, "Well twerp? What do you think?"

Ash: "I think… I'll do some shopping before buying one of those hehehehe"

The boy slowly walked away but then James and Meowth came by and whispered, "You've made a wise decision there" the four (Pikachu included) of them gave out a soft giggle. So while Jessie was busy off sponsoring her book, the two boys and one Meowth and one Pikachu were able to talk like real men without any fear of repercussion. They decided to help Ash in his grocery shopping.

"So I'm guessing you're staying somewhere nearby?" said James as helped pick out a few good fruits from the selection.

"You could say that" was the boy's reply

Meowth decided to chow down on one of the Pokeblocks he had in his jacket. "I never thought that a twerp like you could actually become Pokemon master and--- gack!" James whacked him with a mallet he borrowed from Jessie. "That's it! No more Pokeblocks for you!"

Ash: "Hehehehe. It's ok James, there's no need to worry"

James: "But still…"

Ash: "Listen James… I want to…… thank you…… for what you did that time"

The two of them remained quiet for awhile when Meowth picked himself up from the ground. His whiskers were all bent from the large impact.

James: "No need to worry about us! Besides… we wouldn't want our favorite twerp to go to AHEM! The big house"

Ash: "Thanks again…… if there's anything you need just give me a call. Ash Ketchum always repays a debt (he did his usual hero pose)"

James: "Heh… I don't think that would be necessary. I have all the money I need and a woman to fuel my fire every time"

Ash: "Uh……"

James: "Trust me. All a girl would ever need are flowers and chocolate. It worked on her so why shouldn't it work with your friend"

Meowth: "Believe me, James had been getting fan mail ever since he wrote his own issue of the book"

Ash: "Hmm… ok it's worth a shot. Thanks James, Meowth"

"Oh James" Jessie called out from the back

"Coming Jessie! Well, see you again twerp!" and with that, the once annoying Team Rocket left the boy to finish off his shopping. Ash waved his hand good buy as their servants load up the goods on the back of their limo. Damn… if James and Jessie could spend like crazy with the money they had why can't he? Ash shook away the idea of spending and quickly took a look at his watch. "Holy Miltank, is that the time? Come on Pikachu let's go!"

**(Time skip afternoon Anabel's lodge)**

"Sorry I'm a bit late! I was out shopping and I…" Ash never got to finish his sentence when he figured that no one was around to listen to him. The only thing that was around was Espeon and Eevee looking at the boy dumbly. "Hmm… where could Anabel be?" he then noticed that there was a note on the table with a different message written on it.

_Ash_

_I went to work. Probably be back later. I might be late_

_Anabel_

The boy giggled as he never thought that Anabel would be working at her age. She was still fifteen, probably going to be sixteen tomorrow but anyone would be surprise by her own maturity. "Well Pikachu. Since Anabel isn't here we might as well whip up something nice for her birthday! (pika!)"

Ash quickly placed all of his groceries on the table and began whipping something that would even make the gods drool. When Espeon and Eevee caught the scent of the food, they were ready to take down a Moltres just get a taste of it. It was really just too good to past up. He must've inherited some of his mother's cooking skill.

Just when he was done, Ash's Swellow knocked on the window and began saying something intelligible. The boy nodded at what the bird Pokemon was saying and his eyes quickly widened, "She's coming? Now? How far?"

"Quark Swellow!" (ten minutes top!)

"Oh no! We need to set up the table! Noctowl, Swellow, I need you to distract her while we set up the rest" the two bird Pokemon flew high up and immediately thought of a plan to stall Anabel, "Bulbasaur, Totodile, Cyndoquil, Aipom, I need you guys to set up the decorations!" the three Pokemon saluted and quickly jump off to the living room, "Pikachu, can you take care of the rest here buddy?" Pikachu nodded and quickly head towards the dining room to coordinate every movement of his friends.

**(Along the road)**

Anabel sighed heavily as she heads back to her house. She had just finished with her work and she didn't want anything more than a nice warm meal and a hot shower to take all the coldness away. After a few minute walk, she could see her house just in the distance but along the way she spotted a wounded looking Noctowl, "Hey, are you alright?" she leaped towards the wounded Pokemone and checked its leg. The Noctowl let out a painful croo making the girl let go of his leg.

"I don't see any wounds" she was inspecting the so called 'broken' leg of the bird but the moment she put her bag down, Noctowl gave out a signal to Swellow who was hiding in the dark and quickly grabbed the bag with quick attack. "Hey!" in an instant, Noctowl flew away with a light croo. Anabel wanted to stop Noctowl but it was already to far gone so she had no choice but to chase Swellow. "Hey you! Give me back my bag!" (squak Swell) after that the two of them began a mediocre chase around the intersection. Anabel jumped out and down while Swellow toyed her, making the bag go into grabbing distance and suddenly pulling it up again. The chase went on for about five or so minutes before Swellow saw a small electrical light being generated from the top of the house. The bird Pokemon dropped the bag and quickly head back to Ash's side.

Anabel panted heavily as she just probably lost five pounds chasing that bird in circles. She grabbed her bag and slowly made her way back into the house. "What a day" At first she could here giggling but then she thought Ash was probably reading one of his comics again. When she unlocked the door and went in, party poppers blew out from the room and a great big 'Happy Birthday' rolled down from the ceiling. "Surprise! Happy Birthday Anabel (Pikachu!) (Aipom pom!) (Bulbasaur!) (Croo croo!) (Swellow) (Cynda!) (Bubbubububububba That's Totodile if you don't know!)"

Her reaction was just what the gang would've expected of her. She was shock confused and yet at some point… she was happy! "H… how?"

Ash smiled, "Sorry about the mess hehehe. We were kinda in a hurry to set things up. So umm… surprised?"

"Very…" was the only word she could conjure up. She looked around and saw everyone (mostly Pokemon) were looking at her with smiles on their faces. Right then, her fatigued dried away only replacing it with a great big wide smile. Each of Pokemon including her Espeon were handing her gifts which were kind of badly wrapped due to that 'they don't have portable thumbs like us humans but it didn't matter. She was so happy right now that she could just cry away in her dream.

"Come on! Let's eat everyone!" the Pokemon yelled out in victory as their surprise went just as planned.

….

….

….

….

….

….

….

The meal went on with absolute chaos!!!!!! At first it started out normally, but when Eevee accidentally dropped the salad on Bulbasaur's head everything went ballistic! Aipom used its hand-like tail to throw fruits at Pikachu while Cyndaquil tried to restrain itself from using its fire power. Ash leaped in to control the situation but when he jumped he only made things worst. Foods were flying all over the place. Pikachu was using the bowl as a helmet and using bananas as ammunition. It was a good thing Swellow and Noctowl were outside because they were already making bets on who would be the last food fighter standing. Totodile then joined the fight when a slice of the cake fell onto his head. He licked the cake first before firing out a water gun attack.

After all the stupidity that's been going on Anabel was no longer able to suppress her own laugh. The whole gang stopped the fight as they stared on the girl who was laughing like there was no tomorrow. "Oh hahaahaahahahaha! Oh… why did you guys stop? Hahahahaha! Oh man that was the funniest thing I've ever seen hahahaha!" Ash smiled back as wiped the cake off his face. Once everyone was cleaned up and full, it was time for the games. At first they just thought it would be good to throw some darts but then it became boring. The second one was a little game of piñata! Pikachu went first but then it got dizzy so Anabel went next. She refused because she was too full from all the food so Ash was next. The boy was amazingly full of energy. He swung hard left and right while the gang pulled the piñata up and down making him miss. After a while, he suddenly lost his balance which caused him to fall onto Anabel.

There faces touched and their bodies were aligned so close with each other that they could already have naughty thoughts in their head. All the Pokemon gasped as Ash was as red as a ripe tomato. Anabel was also the same. Both their faces were so close that they were just about ready to take their so called 'friendly' relationship to the next level.

Anabel's legs were spread and Ash was dead right center. His hat had already fallen off to the other side making no sound at all. The music that was being played on the radio strangely went dead. Time slowed considerably as their nose slowly touched. "It _was going to happen… it was really going to happen" _those were the thoughts of their Pokemon as they gazed at the two humans. Just when their lips were about to touch (again) something unexpected happened.

"Surprise! Happy birthday Ana---" the whole gang of the Frontier Brain including Scott barged in from the front door with gifts and smiles on their faces. Brandon, Tucker, Lucy, Spenser, Greta, Noland they were all there. Ash lifted his head to see their congratulation cut extremely short when they saw Anabel and Ash…… in a very very very COMPRAMISING position. Ash on top of Anabel, their legs were apart, their bodies touching each other and probably some other things that you guys might probably be thinking. Their gifts fell onto the floor along with their jaws going even below sea level.

Right now… only one thing registered in Anabel's mind.

Oh crud!


	10. Oh Crud x10

**Chapter 10: Oh Crud! x10**

A tray holding eight cups of warm tea was sitting on the table. A high tension drew around the living room as the members of the Battle Frontier confront their most odd challenge yet. Scott and Brandon sat on the sofa with apologetic smiles on their faces. Greta stood next to Ash putting some ointments on his cheek while Anabel tended into making something for them to eat. Noland was sitting on one of the chairs looking rather messy than the rest. His cap was ripped into two and his hair was finally showing.

While the rest of them were chatting on the living room table, Spenser and Tucker were busy eating the left over from the food fight that just occurred half an hour ago.

While some of them had some scratches and bumps, Ash was the worst of all. The most visible wound he had on him was probably the blackness on his right eye.

**(Flashback, 15 minutes ago)**

When the members of the Frontier Brain stormed through the house to surprise Anabel of her birthday, they were the ones who were surprised. With cake and cream covering the boy's face, the first thought that popped into their heads was that the guy was an intruder!

Greta, who was practically the strongest girl in the group lunge in with a flying dragon kick! "Hyaaaa!" she charged out at the boy. But her attack only missed him by an inch of his life. "Hey, wait a minute!" Ash tried to calm the blonde black belt down but his plea was only rewarded with Lucy unleashing her Seviper, "Seviper, get him NOW!" she ordered which the Pokemon did to the letter. But just before the snake could wrap itself around the young boy, Ash did some sort of a break dance move which made him dodge the attack by just mere seconds.

"Please wait a minute!" once again the boy pleaded for someone to hear him out, but his words were silenced when Greta gave him a kick on the stomach which caused him to fly into the kitchen.

"Wait a minute Greta" Anabel pleaded for the girl to stop but then Tucker came in and took her to safety…… or at they thought of it that way. With Anabel out of sight, the ones inside were going to have some fun with the so called 'intruder'

Noland put on his gloves and stretched his arms a few times along with Brandon whose face looked like he was pissed beyond all reasons. "Noland, you take the back door" the Factory Head nodded his head and quickly went to the back door. Brandon then turned to Greta, "Greta, you and I will take him head on" the blonde girl cracked her knuckles a few times before nodding in agreement. One could only imagine what pain Ash will go through when he faces her. "Scott, Tucker, you two guard the front door and make sure he doesn't get out" with a defining 'hn' sound from the boss, Brandon walked in carrying one of his favorite golf clubs.

Back at the kitchen, Ash was probably just recovering from the massive blow done to his stomach. Luckily for him, his body had endured much worst punishment… much much worst. Unfortunately for the Ash, when he tumbled into that room, his body tackled onto a bottle of ketchup which spilled all over his shirt making him look like a mass murderer. "Oh o…" was all that the boy could say when he saw something silver flash before his eyes. Thanks to his vigorous training back in the old days, his reflexes were definitely that more of an average boy.

Brandon swung his club and smashed against the cub board making it look like a pile of scrap wood rather than a piece of art. "Brandon, wait!" the Pyramid king took a moment to hear the boy at first, but when he saw the 'blood' (ketchup) all over his shirt his anger rose beyond capacity! "You murderer!" he yelled before taking another swing at Ash. Each time he swung that gold club at the Pokemon Master, it got closer and closer.

With Ash backed into a corner, the boy decided to fight back by throwing pots and plates at Brandon to slow him down. Heck, the kid was even using the roast beef he was planning to eat with Anabel for their main course.

"Ahhh!" Brandon yelled out in a fake pain when an egg slammed against his head. The yolk that spilled off slid down his face making him utterly humiliated. When he was being distracted by the egg, Ash took the opportunity to escape through the back door. However… to his dismay, Noland was there to ambush him.

The Factory Head master put Ash into a head lock situation and tried to choke the boy into submission. But Ash was not one to go down without a fight. Spending a year in prison can change a kind hearted boy into a street fighter anytime. Pulling out some miraculous strength from the bowls of his muscles, Ash pulled himself out of the head lock and toss Noland towards the garbage bin. A few moments after he thought that it was over, Greta gave out another flying dragon kick right at him. But this time… Ash was prepared. He caught her leg just milliseconds before the impact and tossed her back at the kitchen, but seeing that Greta was a martial art expert, she quickly recovered and begun throwing punches at him.

Ash was now mentally and verbally cursing himself as he blocked the attacks. No matter how many times he yielded, Greta would ignore him and plow through his words like wheat before the scythe. But when the blonde girl was just about to land another blow on Ash, her feet slipped through some snow and fell to the ground like a sack of meat.

"Now will you listen to me?" Ash lowered his voice as he spoke. But before he could even think of doing something to prove his intentions, Spenser, the Palace Maven shoved his staff right onto the boy's left eye making knocking him out completely with swirly eyes.

The last thing Ash could remember before going black out, was Anabel screaming something at her companions.

**(End of flashback)**

Ever since that fight, Brandon had to wash his hair to remove the stickiness from the egg yolk. Noland had to put a whole bottle of perfume just to remove the stench off his jacket. Greta had some cuts and bruises but she was ok. Luckily for the rest, they weren't harmed at all. Anabel spent the last hour explaining the situation to her 'visitors' and once that was cleared out Ash had woken awake from his K.O mode.

"Yeowww! That hurt!" Ash flinched when the alcohol cotton touched his cheek. He was being treated by Greta, the Arena Tycoon mistress. Surprisingly for a girl who knows how to hurt people in a million different ways, she also knew several things about medicine. She said that she wanted to be a nurse back in her kindergarten days but after realizing that she needed to treat all those patients, she chose a different path then.

"Oh quit whining you baby!" the black belt yelled back. "I can't believe the world's greatest Pokemon Master can be such a whino!" she added some antibiotics to make sure that all the wounds wouldn't get infected and then after that she placed a band aid over it. "There, it's all done" she quickly folded closed the first aid kit and joined the others on the sofa.

"Ahehehe… sorry about that Ash" Scott apologized with a sweat drop coming from his head. "We thought that you were some kind of an intruder so we had no choice but to attack"

"_No choice my rear! You nearly killed him!"_ Anabel screamed in her head but kept a smile on her face.

"Anyway… how did you know about Anabel's birthday?" Scott asked with a curious eye. Ash quickly picked out the letter he found this morning and handed it to the original owner, "Oh I see…"

Ash gave out an apologetic look at the Salon maiden, "Sorry, I didn't mean to read it. It just flew by on the ground so uh…"

"Well I guess there's no harm done" Brandon cut the boy off. "Should we continue with the party?" he then pointed at Tucker, who was practically inhaling the food at an alarming rate. "We wouldn't want him to finish without us now would we?" everyone gave out a hearth giggle but Tucker only gave Brandon a 'are you talking about me' look at him.

With the party going on without much trouble, Ash and Anabel were relieved that they didn't find out that he was actually staying with her. He only motioned that he was staying in a hotel back in the city, and not in the guest room at the back of the house.

**(Pallet Town)**

Gary was walking towards his house near the edge of his hometown close to the river. A few months after he had returned from the Hoenn league as one of the top five competitors, he was able to afford his own place. Usually his house keeper comes by and cleans the place once a week. The boy didn't stay in that house for more than three days due to the numerous challenges that were being offered by the world and all.

His house was bigger than Ash's old one. It had three floors and the size of a small mansion. But before the young trainer could reach the place, he had to past through his old grandpa's house. The boy took a moment to reflect on what he had been doing for the past months. All this time he could not stop blaming Samuel the crimes he had committed. Gary didn't know about Ash's accusation until it was already three weeks late. By the time he got to Pallet town, the boy's belongings were already confiscated and Ash himself was gone.

Infused with the rage of hatred to so many people, the boy broke his eye contact with the professor's house/lab and continued walking towards the dirt road.

"Gary?" his walk suddenly came to a halt when a familiar voice echoed from behind. "Gary Oak, is that you?" the boy turned around and mentally froze when his grandmother in law starred at him back with her deep blue eyes. It wasn't long then till Gary realized that Ash inherited his mother's charm. If that kid would become a play boy in a normal high school, he'd be swamp with girls 24/7.

"Oh… hey Mrs. Ket… I mean… grandma" it felt strange to call such a young woman like that. Ash's mom barely had any wrinkles on her face, and her body was already like that of a super model. The more Gary looked at her, the he realized how similar she and Ash are. He doesn't really know much about her previous husband and perhaps we probably never will. "I didn't know you were still up"

The woman gave out a small giggle, "Well, you know me, always a light sleeper. Did you just come from Varidian city?" the boy nodded his head in reply, "Well, I'm about to have some midnight snack, do you wanna join me?" Gary was just about to refuse at first but after a sudden rumble from his stomach he blushed. The boy hasn't eaten much ever since he got down from the bus from Varidian city.

"Yeah… I'd love to Mrs. Oak" that title sounded much better than grandma or grandmother any day.

The two of them walked into the old place where Gary first learned about Pokemon training. Ever since Delia and Ash moved into the place, the lab got turned into a house for a family of five. Delia and the professor sleep in one room while Ash took the one next door. The other three rooms were for guests. After a month of living in the place, the mother did a lot of refurnishing which gave the place a little family look. All the equipments that were scattered around the living room were now stacked inside the store room for safe keeping.

Gary gave out a giggle when he remembered that the professor went on a panic strike when he couldn't find one of his devices. He nearly turned the whole house inside out looking for that little gizmo.

"I didn't really make much" the boy's thoughts were suddenly interrupted when Delia spoke, "I'll go and heat up the left over beef. Why don't you sit down and make yourself comfortable?" while she disappeared into the kitchen at the back of the house, Gary decided to do what she said. He quickly placed his knapsack on one of the chairs and laid his back down on one of the sofas. His exhausted body really needed some rest after all that non-stop traveling all the way from Celadon city.

**(Back in Anabel's lodge)**

Just as the party went on with jokes and plates being passed around like coins, Scott took a look at his watch and compared it to the clock on the wall. "Whoa… it's getting late everyone" he said to all who were present on the dining table. "We'd better head back to our Battle Facilities or else there'd be a pile of paper works waiting for us" the others quickly agreed and decided to leave. After that, Scott turned his head to the Pokemon Master, "Hey Ash, do you need a lift back to your hotel? I can give you a ride"

The boy quickly waved his hand defensively, "Oh no, that's ok Scott. I can walk there myself" he said while giving out a fake smile.

"Oh come on Ash. It's just along the way" it didn't look like the man was gonna give in to the 'no' answer. Anabel gave out a worried look to Ash but Scott didn't notice.

In the end, Ash thought of it to be a good thing. "Oh ok…" he agreed which caught Anabel by surprise. With a victorious smile from Scott and a confusing glance from the Salon Maiden Ash returned all of his Pokemons (excluding Pikachu) to their respective Pokeballs. "I'll go start the car then" Scott said dangling his car keys. Before the two of them exited through the front door, Ash gave out a wink to Anabel to gesture to her that he had a plan.

"Come on Pikachu" the little yellow mouse gave out a confusing stare at his master for a moment, but decided to play along anyway. Ash has never let the little guy down before so why should he start today? By the time Scott started the engine of his red corvette, Greta came with a smile coming across her face.

"That was some nice move there Ash" the blonde said cheerfully, "No one has ever blocked my flying dragon kick with only their hands before. Hey, why don't you come to Celadon city gym for awhile? My cousin owns it. I visit him once a week to do some small time business and he's quite the fighter"

This caused Ash some great confusion, "Wait a minute. You're related to Erika?" he wondered how a nice gym leader like Erika could be related to someone like her. Erika is a girl who loves plant Pokemons and looks nothing like Greta at all.

"Erika?" Greta repeated the name, "Oh you mean the gym leader of Celadon city? No, not that kind of gym. I meant the workout gym!" she gave out a Hercules pose, "My cousin Melvin owns a gym right across the Pokemon center. If you need to work out or need someone to spar with, then that's where you'll get your number one treatment! Just tell him I sent you and you can use the facility for free"

Ash gave out a mother of all sweat drops as the girl continued her frantics about the details of the place. "Uh… thanks Greta, I'll keep that in mind" he extended his hand and gave his respects to the Arena Tycoon mistress. "I hope we see each other again"

Greta didn't really know how the boy managed to grab her hand, but when he did, he felt a sudden surge of warmth coming through her body. A faint blush came across her face like a heater that had been left on in the middle of the hottest days of summer. "Uh… yeah… too me… I mean: me too!" her words began to intertwine like a fly caught in a spider's web.

When Ash released his grip, the girl's face dropped down with a large disappointing look. She wished to hold his hand just a little bit longer but then again it would only look strange.

With Scott and Ash driving off to the city and the rest of the Battle Frontier members traveling via Brandon's floating pyramid, Anabel gave out a huge sigh of relief as she closed the door to her house. For a moment there, she actually thought that she was gonna get into big trouble. But thanks to Ash's quick thinking and acting skills, they were able to get off without raising a hint of suspicion. "Well… I guess I'd better start cleaning up" she whined as she looked at the mess the Pokemons made during their food fighting spree.

**(Celadon city streets)**

"So Ash, where are you staying?" Scott asked not removing his eyes from the road, "I guess since you're a Pokemon Master, you must be staying in one of those five star hotels huh?" the chubby man gave out a slight giggle.

"No, not really" Ash replied while holding Pikachu on his lap, "I'm actually staying in a small place just at the edge of town" he then pointed at a small average size hotel near the city gates. He didn't really know of any other hotels out there since he hasn't been in the city for long. When Scott dropped the boy off, he gave out a wave and thanked the man for sending him here. Ash walked into the hotel and 'pretended' to be talking with the clerk on the counter.

When Scott drove off to wherever he may be going, Ash decided to stay about five or six more minutes just to make sure he wouldn't 'accidentally' bump onto him. After the minutes flew by, he began making his way back to Anabel's lodge. Hopefully this time, they won't have anymore interference.

**(Somewhere along the road)**

Just as Scott drove out of the city towards Cerulean city, his cell phone began to ring. "Hello?" he answered politely.

"Mr. Scott sir!" a voice sounded from the other line, "We've got a call from the construction workers back at the new facility. It seems like the price just doubled to get the repairs done" Scott immediately hit the brakes and parked on the side to have a proper conversation with his secretary.

"Doubled? What do you mean doubled?!" he snapped, "I thought he said that the price was accurate!" he immediately shut down his car and walked out to get some fresh air. "The manager told me that it has already been paid in full!"

"I know sir" replied the secretary, "But the materials needed for the construction are missing. They'll need top quality supplies to keep the place intact" the owner of the Frontier Brain sighed. He had spent a great amount of time and a huge fortune just to get the best workers to repair the new facility. But now that the price has doubled, he was beginning to think that he was gonna be bankrupt for sure.

The chubby man began massaging with aching head with his own hand and went into a deep thought. "Alright… tell the sponsor to meet me in my office tomorrow. We'll settle the deal there" with a simple click on his cell phone, Scott got back into his car and drove off into the night. It was supposed to be a relaxing cruise to let him let go of some steam, but now with that phone call, he could barely even blink without having a thought go through his mind.

**(Back with Ash)**

After getting through the city's main gate without much of a trouble, Ash arrived back at Anabel's lodge along with Pikachu and his other Pokemons. He politely knocked at the door first, since he knows that it is not his house. He could hear several locks being undone on the other side which prompt him to believe that Anabel was still up. "Hey Anabel, I'm back" he spoke up when the girl's face popped through the door. At first he was expecting for her to say something like, 'Welcome back' or 'Where were you' but instead, the reply he got was a broom, a dustpan and an apron.

The boy mentally sweat dropped and knew what the girl was asking him to do. Sweep, mop, dust and etc. Those were probably the words that were repeating in Ash's head when he began cleaning. He wasn't worried because that he had the place messed up, he was worried because of all the furnitures and antiques he broke during the fight against Brandon and Greta.

The kitchen room was utterly destroyed with only six plates remaining and a half dent frying pan. The refrigerator was torn down that you could already see some sparks coming from the plug.

When Ash scanned around the house for all the damage, he took a mental note to repay everything before he breaks anything else.

Just when the both of them were sweeping the living room, the phone began to ring, which caught them by surprise. "Oh by the nine, that scared me for a moment" Anabel placed her hand over her chest and sighed. "Hello, this is Anabel speaking" she answered in an annoyed tone

"…"

"Oh ok…" she then glared at Ash, "Hey Ash… there's a phone call for you" Ash was surprised for a moment there. He had not received a land line phone call for a long time now. He usually answers all his calls through his cell phone nowadays.

Ash took the phone from her and placed it on his ear. He tried to activate the video receiver, but when it did, there was a phrase saying 'voice only' imprinted on the screen. "Hello, this is Ash speaking"

"…" there was no reply from the other line. Only a harsh breathing and the sound of rain coming from the background could he heard.

"Hello, is anyone there?" Ash tried to communicate with the caller again but in the end he just received the same reply. A breathing and rain tinkles. "Hey, if you're hearing this, can you say something?"

"…" again, the dead silence.

"Hello, is someone th…" before he could finish, the line went dead with a defining thud, telling the boy that the caller had hung up. Ash pondered for a minute and tried calling back, but then he realized that the call came from a telephone booth. "That's weird…" he said to himself. He then hung up and decided to continue cleaning the house along with his Pokemons.

"Hey Ash" Anabel called out taking the boy's face off the phone, "I'm taking the trash out for a minute. Can you clean up the things at the back" she pointed to a large pile of broken plates and potteries near the stair case. Ash accepted the task without question. Since he was part of the group that caused the damage, he believed that it was his responsibility to clean up after himself. "Well… better now than never"

**(In a phone near Celadon city)**

The dark figure that attacked Anabel's house a few days ago walked out the phone booth with a cigar on his mouth. He was grinning from ear to ear while holding a bottle of beer in his hand. If one should encounter this guy on the road, you would probably think that he was rotten to the core of his heart. Well… you're not far from the correct answer there.

Before he returned to his car, he spat out his cigarette and drank that bottle of alcohol with one big gulp.

**(Pallet Town) (Oak's lab)**

Gary was munching happily with the food that was prepared for him. Delia's cooking never once failed to fill the hole in his stomach and tonight was no exception either. The plates that were filled with the left over from dinner were practically disappearing one by one by the seconds.

With a defining burp from the boy, Delia gave out a satisfying smile. She didn't really know about Gary's appetite, but after years of cooking for Ash's stomach, she had grown used into cooking more than she actually needed. "Phew! That was the best auntie!" Gary now decided to call her that rather than grandma or Mrs. Oak. "That was probably the best meal I had for days!" he rubbed his stomach, gesturing to the mother that he was full.

Delia gave out a chuckle, "Well I see you and Ash finally have something in common" the two of them giggled then it turned into a small laugh, "I guess I'd better remember to cook some more when you come to visit"

"Yeah…" Gary agreed, "By the way. I met him in Pallet town the other day. He's staying in a hotel until the blizzard dies down"

"That's nice dear…" The mother nodded, "Well… I guess he's old enough to know that his health comes first" just as she got up to clean the table, Gary froze with that last statement. A huge part of him wanted to tell Delia about Ash's body failure condition, but then his foolish pride of keeping his promise never to tell kept his mouth sealed like super glue.

"Yeah… I guess so…" he replied while taking his cup of hot coffee to his lips. "He's still the same old Ash I remember"

As the night went on in Pallet town, Gary could only imagine what Ash might be doing now. "I bet you anything that he's sleeping right now" if I had made a bet with Gary, I would've already won his house.

**(Back in Anabel's lodge) (45 minutes later)**

After finally getting her house well done, Anabel laid her sore back on the sofa with a sigh of great relief. Her house was now practically empty because of all the broken furnitures she had to throw out. The place was now actually spacious enough to hold a small disco party if she should ever want one. Heck, she even had a disco ball in her attic during her grade school days.

"Hey Anabel…" her train of thought quickly popped out like a bubble when a voice echoed from behind. She turned her head to meet to speaker, but when she did, she couldn't help but break out a soft smile from her tired lips.

Ash was holding a small plate which had a cake standing on it. "I save you some cake" he placed it down on the living room table and then sat on the opposite side of the girl's sofa. Anabel looked at the cake and was surprised to see what was on it. Ash had spent the remaining time he had to put a coating that spelled 'Happy Birthday' on top and her name 'Anabel' at the bottom. At the center of the cake was a single candle stick which stood out above the tasty treat. "I thought, since you didn't eat much, I thought I'd save you some" the girl gave out a blush that would make the red rose jealous.

"Oh Ash, you didn't have to" she tried to be as modest as possible but that didn't work. Ash was already playing that character and boy was he good or what?

"Oh that reminds me!" Ash clapped his hands together; "I bought you something while I was in town" he quickly pulled out a gift from the bottom of the table. It was a small gift wrapped nicely with a Tediursa picture pasted on it to give it that cute and cuddly nature.

Anabel blushed even more if that was even humanly possible. Her heart increased its pace again making her chest thump within every second. It was pumping so fast that the girl could believe that she was already feeling its pace just by her breathing. As she glared at the present Ash gave her, she could see the wave of emotions flooding down from the ribbon that the boy tried so hard to tie up.

A small part of her mind was telling her to open it and see what was inside, but then another part of her mind just wanted to keep the present just the way it is. The box enough was already enough of a present for her.

Just as she was still awed by the gift that the boy had given, Ash's Pikachu climbed onto its master's shoulders giving out a small 'Pikachu' if you were in that situation, you would probably believe that he was saying "Happy Birthday" in the Pokemon language.

It wasn't long then till Ash's other Pokemons began to join in. Aipom took over Ash's other shoulder with its ever cheerful smile imprinted on its face. Swellow and Noctowl stood on the corner of the boy's chair with their claws planted on the wood, giving them that extra balance. Bulbasaur and Totodile also came out to give Anabel that morale support.

With all of them together at that happy moment, Ash said to the purple haired girl with a smile on his face, "Happy birthday… Anabel…" (Bulbasaur) (Croo croo!) (Aipom pom!) (Pika pikachu!) (Swellow!) (Bubabubabubabubabuba!)

Anabel's face held no emotions but deep within her mind, heart and soul, her body echoed with so much happiness. Her love and her friends were all there… congratulating her with smiles on their faces. Their presence filled her shallow heart with the flow of joy making her eyes watery like next before. A tear of happiness fell through her cheeks then dripping onto the carpet below. She could not speak, heck she didn't even know what to say. But words meant nothing now… she didn't need them to express her gratitude. Her smile and joy… was all the reply Ash needed to know what she wanted to express.

With the blow of the candle, Ash and his Pokemons began clapping their hands to signal a successful birthday party!

"Congratulations!" was the last word that came from that house… as the long night… had finally… come to an end.


	11. A Long Night's End

**Chapter 11: A Long Night's End**

The morning sun had once again failed our hero to rise above the skies to melt the ice that laid below. Usually, in mornings, there would be birds singing, winds blowing calmly at the window, the warmth focused on the faces of people, and the smell of pancakes being made in the kitchen. But for Ash and Anabel… it was not meant to be. The birds did not sing their songs that morning, the winds that were gushing were practically blowing away the trees outside the house, the sun's ray had not shown its benevolent warmth to the earth, and their breakfast were sadly the leftover from last night's dinner.

"It looks like a storm is coming" said Ash as he gazed upon the darkened sky. In the distance, he could see several bolts of lightning being shot down from the sky, crashing against the solid earth with its invisible fist. He then turned to Anabel, who was still petting the Eevee that they've managed to help from the woods. Its leg was still broken but at least now it could move around without limping in pain. "It could be a long one too" she added. "Let's go to the grocery store and stock up. The city might close down if a typhoon hits" the boy quickly agreed and head to his room to get change.

By the time they got out, Ash turned to his little yellow pal Pikachu. "Ok Pikachu, I want you to take care of everybody while I'm away ok?" with a reassuring 'Pika' sound from his little yellow friend, Ash gave out a smile and closed the door behind him.

**(Back in Pallet town)**

"Now say ahh" said Delia as she began her usual morning check up on Ash's Pokemon in the ranch. Since neither Samuel or Tracey could lay a finger on them without getting hurt, it was up to the young Mrs. Ketchum er… I mean Mrs. Oak to do the task. "Bey bey!" Beyleef was more than happy to take the medicine that the mother gave out. Ever since it rained a few nights ago, the little grass Pokemon had been feeling a little weary.

A few minutes later, the professor came by, "Delia, there's a phone call for you" he said gesturing to the portable landline phone on his hand. "It's from Gary" this caught the young woman's attention quite a bit, "Oh ok" she took the phone and placed it on her ear, "Hi there Gary, how are ya?"

"Hey there auntie, I'm fine. How are ya?" came the boy's muffled voice.

"Peachy as always" she replied, "I'm doing my usual check up on Ash's Pokemon right now. What can I help you with?" the boy flinched for a moment as he tried to come up with an idea. He didn't really know why he called; it's just that he needed to hear a familiar voice for a moment. "Uh… nothing important. I just wanted to know if Ash called or something" Delia was not surprise to hear the boy worried about her son. Ever since he brought him out of prison, the two of them had become closer, which constantly reminded her of the time when the two of them were still toddlers.

"Well not yet. But I have the number of his cell phone" she picked up her phone and began scrolling the numbers. "Uh… it's ok auntie. I'll just wait for him to call me. Sorry to disturb you" the boy immediately hung up which cause the woman to feel kind of stunned for a moment. "Hmm… now that was an odd call"

**(Celadon city)**

Ash and Anabel were taking their precious time shopping around for things they needed for a long winter season. Food and supplies were an essential part of the trip but after purchasing a whole load of provisions and other necessities, they decided to go shopping around the fashion area for new looks. While Ash just busy himself by carrying all the heavy load, Anabel was going around looking and saying 'oh this looks cute!' or 'oh that looks soooo adorable' and many other things that's feminine.

"Excuse me sir" the salon battle maiden said to the clerk, "I'd like to buy this and this" she place two hats on the table and began looking through her wallet. "That would be nine ninety-five" replied the clerk as he checked the prices on the cash register.

Just as Ash was gazing around looking at the different modern fashions of today, his attention was grabbed when he noticed Anabel on the floor giving out fake tear drops. The boy wondered why the girl was crying but when he notice the empty wallet, he began to chuckle. Apparently Anabel had spent her entire month's pay buying all those dresses and hats and scarves.

Being the polite boy as he is, Ash pulled out a platinum credit card from his wallet and gave it to the man, "Do you take credit cards?" the clerk's eye quickly widened like a saucer plates. "How may I serve you?" the man quickly gave a bow and acted like a servant who would do almost anything for Ash. "Just the hats please" Ash replied. But before Ash could hand him the card, Anabel hastily jolted from her crying position. "Wait Ash! You don't need to do that! I mean… I mean"

But the boy just smiled, "Don't worry Ana, it's not that much. Besides, I do owe you a lot for the damage to your house" Anabel quickly remembered all the broken plates and destroyed furnitures in her house. So instead of arguing, she decided to let Ash buy it for her. Besides, he was staying in her house after all.

**(Time skip 1 hour)**

After the two of them were done shopping, Anabel decided that it was time for them to head back home. But just when they were heading towards the city entrance, an awkward silence came over them. They were walking through a small park in the afternoon in their winter coat attires which were surprisingly matching. But the most awkward thing was that during this time of day, there were seeing a lot of couples holding hands and snuggling close to each other. If one should see these two walking around, they could easily be mistaken as a couple as well.

The two of them blushed as they saw two couples kissing each other. Ash looked away from Anabel and Anabel looked away from Ash hiding their red hot faces since it was so embarrassing to show their embarrassed faces to each other.

Not wanting to let this feeling go any further, they hastened their pace and quickly made their way to the city gates. Once the gate was in sight their hearts began to relax a little bit.

"So…" Ash began which caused Anabel to turn to him, "What do you want for dinner Anabel? Since we bought so much, I thought you might want something different for a change" he gestured to the large plastic bags he was carrying on both of his hands. "Oh really?" Anabel replied. She then thought for a moment on what she would like for a special meal, "Do you know how to make Roujuladi?" she asked with a humerous tone. It was an odd dish name, but very popular in Shinou. She wouldn't be surprise if Ash didn't know.

"I think you mean Ra-o-ju-lida" Ash corrected her which surprised the girl quite a bit. "I had it back when I was fighting in the Shinou league. I think I have the recipe in my recipe book. I think I can make it, but don't expect it to be as good" he let out a small laugh which Anabel followed as well. After a few minutes of walking with a better mood, a scream caught their attention like an anchor towing their heads to the source of the scream.

To their surprise, a child, probably about four years old was walking down the crowded road oblivious to the danger around him. "Someone save my son!" shouted the mother.

Like the speed of a living bullet, Ash dropped the package and dashed faster than Anabel could even speak. The crowd around saw this and was immediately astounded by the boy's amazing feats.

Just when a truck was about to ram the child, Ash grab him with his arms and gaze at the truck as it hit the breaks giving a screeching sound to the atmosphere. At that very moment, Anabel's heart slowed and so did time itself. Everything was happening in slow motion like what you see in the Matrix. As the truck slowly approached the young Pokemon Master, Anabel could only gasp in fear of what could happen. But Ash was not going to die now. He has to move on with his life… and no truck was gonna stop him from becoming the greatest trainer in the world. Using his lightning fast reflexes, Ash rolled his body towards the sidewalk, avoiding the truck just by a millisecond.

While the baby was laughing happily like nothing happened, Ash felt like his life escaped the grim reaper's scythe. He held his heart tightly as he stood up.

"My baby!" the mother cried out. Ash gladly handed her back her child and began panting heavily like he was about to have a heart attack. "Oh thank you, thank you good sir!" the mother praised the boy as she held her son back in her arms. By the time the incident ended, Anabel came to Ash.

"Ash! Are you ok?" she asked with a terrified face. But Ash just smiled like it was a common experience for him, "Yeah I'm ok. I just got my coat dirty hehehehe" he chuckled slightly. "That's not something to laugh about!" she snapped back at him which caused the boy to flinch a little. He didn't really expect her to burst out like that. In fact, he never saw her with such an angry expression before. "The next time you throw yourself into the road, you should look both ways first!"

"Ahehehe…" Ash once again smiled back, "Sorry Ana, it's just that my body reacted on its own. So I couldn't really help it (crack) Ouch!" Ash quickly felt a pain coming from his ankle. The anger inside Anabel quickly vanished as she went to tend to the boy's feet. "Are you alright Ash?" she touch his ankle a little which the boy flinched again more painfully. "I think you sprained your ankles" she analyzed, "Come on. I'll take you back home"

"But what about the groceries?" Ash inquired as he pointed to the shopping bags on the other side of the street. Anabel quickly pulled a Pokeball from her belt and called out Metagross, "Metagross, can you help us carry these back home?" the Pokemon smiled and nodded.

**(Back at Anabel's place)**

The trip back home was pretty much uneventful. When Ash and Anabel got back to the lodge, they weren't surprise to see Pikachu with a bucket over his head. The little electrical mouse now found that to be some sort of a hobby or something.

"You stay on the couch Ash" Anabel ordered to which he had no objections to, "I'll get my first-aid kit and fix you up in a minute" with the girl gone back to get her medical equipments, Eevee took this opportunity to jump onto Ash's lap. "Oh, hey there Eevee" said Ash as he rubbed the mane on its neck. "I see your leg's all better now. That's good" when Pikachu was finally able to get the bucket off his head, he quickly joined his master on the couch for a nice relaxing R&R.

"Alright Ash, lift you feet up" said Anabel as she returned with a first-aid box. The boy refused her treatment at first, but with her insistence, Ash complied and allowed her to wrap his ankle with bandages. The first few minutes went like a breeze but during the middle of the process, Ash began to feel slight pains as Anabel was using one of her techniques which Greta taught her when you have broken bones. At the end of the process, a thought came to Anabel's head.

"Hehehehe… hahahahahaha" she laughed slightly which caught the boy confused, "What's so funny Anabel?" he asked. The girl took a moment before she replied. "You know what? Maybe next time you'll order the whole package" this made the boy even more confused. But then… after noticing the bandages on his head, he quickly realized what was so funny.

Ever since Ash came to Anabel's house, he had been wrapped with bandages around the waist and stomach, then the head during the fight with the Frontier Brains and now the leg. If he had all those bandages put together, he would almost look like a mummy from one of those movies on TV.

"I'll go and prepare dinner" Anabel said finally as they both finished laughing, "You sit back and relax and watch TV. We wouldn't want you to sprain another ankle now would we?" she smiled as she disappeared back into the kitchen.

**(Battle Frontier HQ)**

Scott arrived at the main office of the Battle Frontier with his secretary to meet two people. "Gentlemen…" the chubby man waved up to greet them, "I hope you saw the reports given" the two old looking people nodded. "As you can see… the price for the new Battle Facility had just doubled since the materials we need are much expensive than we had imagined" the first man then replied, "We heard about this Scott and we agree to it whole heartedly. The new battle facility is much larger than all of us could've anticipated, but when it's done, our profits will definitely double as well"

"So we agree to it?" Scott asked in an untrusting tone. The old man gave out a grin, "Of course… this will be more beneficial to us. That is for certain" with a reassuring nod from the two old men, they immediately left the room without anyone to escort them.

"Mr. Scott… sir" the secretary began, "I may be too impose, but I… I don't trust those guys one bit"

"You're not the only one" Scott replied.

**(Back with Ash)**

Just as Ash was sitting on the couch watching TV and scractching both Pikachu and Eevee's ear, Anabel came in with a bowl of rice on her hands and she was wearing a white apron to protect herself from any spills. "Ash, can you help me with the table?" the boy quickly lifted himself up and slightly limped towards her. "Sure thing Anabel, I'll be there in a second" he began setting up the table putting the plates and other eating utensils on its proper place.

"Thanks Ash, just let me get the soup and you can call Pikachu to eat with us" the boy agreed and quickly called his two Pokemons to join him on the table. "Hey Ash? Have you seen Espeon? I haven't…" just before she could finish her sentence, the said Pokemon suddenly appeared out of nowhere which caught Anabel with a slight surprise. "Ahh!" she screamed. But during the process of that scream, she accidentally threw the bowl of soup in her hand onto Ash's pants.

The intense heat of the soup burned through his underwear making him feel like his (you know what kohones!!!) were bearing chicks already. After holding the pain for about a couple of seconds, Ash yelled out like a mad man, "EEEEEYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT HOT!!!!!! HOTTTTTT!!!" he ran around the room screaming the same thing ignoring the pain on his sprained ankle.

"Ash calm down, I'm soooo sorry!" Anabel tried to calm the boy down but to avail. The pain on his pants was too much to bear for any man and I mean ANY MAN. With the boy running around like a goofball, Anabel took out the bucket that Pikachu got his head stuck on and quickly filled it with water. But when she threw the water filled bucket to the boy, her hand slipped and made the bucket go along with it. The metal container slammed against Ash's face but not a drip of water managed to reach him.

Ash was daze for a moment and slowly lost his balance. By the time he got to the snow outside the house, the only thing he could say was, "Ahhhh… snow never felt so cool" Pikachu, Eevee and the rest of Ash's Pokemon laughed so hysterically that they clutched their stomachs like their guts were gonna spill out.

"Ash, are you ok?" asked Anabel as she rushed towards the boy's side. "If you count off my head… I'm practically cool" he moaned in reply.

After treating Ash's large bump on his forehead, and getting him back inside the house, everything has not been going well for Anabel. When Ash asked for more rice, Anabel dropped the cup (Japanese tradition in eating rice use cups not plates) on the boy's head making him look like a snowman at some perspective. When the boy asked for water, she put 'accidentally' put soup in the glass instead of water which made the boy burst out the taste.

And the rest… well… I guess it just wasn't a good night for Ash.

By the time dinner was done Anabel sulked her face into cleaning the dinning room. Ash had to take a little shower to wipe off the soup smell, the rice, the soy sauce and everything else that was on him.

Just when Anabel was finishing with the last of the plates (which she newly bought) a sudden ringing sound caught her attention. "Huh?" she looked around at first, but after seeing her video phone was off she then noticed that it was coming from Ash's dirty pants. "Ash" she called the boy through the bathroom door. Your cell phone is ringing" she picked up the phone from the pocket and knocked it on the door.

The boy opened it slightly and picked the phone from her hands. "Thanks Ana" he appreciated then he clicked to see who's calling, "Hello?"

"Hey Ash! Wazzup!?" it was Gary his old friend. "Oh hey there Gary, where are you?" Ash was quite surprise to hear his friend since he just recently got a new cell phone a couple of weeks ago.

"I'm in Pallet town" Gary replied happily, "I'm just about to set on another journey to Hoenn, so I just wanted to know if you got any tips on the trainers there. Since you're a Pokemon Master, I thought you might have some useful tips on the gym leaders"

Ash thought for a moment and look back at the time when he competed in the Hoenn league, "Well… my guess would be to go through Littleroot town. The nearest gym from there I guess would either be Mauville city or Petalburg city. Norman is the gym leader there, he the dad of M…"

May… May Maples, another one of Ash's friend who had betrayed him.

The sudden thought of the chocolate haired girl saddened the boy almost completely. The images of her angry face and her Pokemons brought back some terrible memories which he thought that he had erased already.

"Ash? Ash? Are you there?" the boy quickly bounced back from the wall and back to the phone, "Huh, oh sorry Gary, I'm in the showers right now. I'll give you the details some other time ok?"

"Oh… ok. I'll you tomorrow then. Sorry to bother you" with a click of the cancel button, the signal was cut.

A wave of emotions flooded the boy's body like a tsunami overtaking him. Why? That single question echoed back and forth over and over again and again like a recorder that badly needs fixing. Some people believe that Ash had moved on through that old pain and false guilt, but that was only half true. A part of him had moved on forward, but if you see him now, you would think otherwise.

**(Pallet town, Gary's place)**

Gary hung up his cell phone and quickly made his way towards the living room where he was packing for the long trip into another region. Several pile of clothes were littered around the area making the place look like a total mess. The boy didn't bother cleaning it up. The moment he comes back from his journey the place will probably be sparkly clean again. "Oh well…" he sighed, "I guess I should turn in for the night" he quickly lock the door and turned off the lights on the first floor. "Come on Umbreon" he gestured to the black cat. "Time for bed"

**(Oak's residence)**

Delia was cleaning up the house after another successful dinner at the table. She was glad she could keep herself busy by doing all the household chores and at the same time, maintaining her old house down the streets. Even though she moved into a larger, wider house, she couldn't bear to leave the other place unattended. So with the professor's permission, they decided to use that other house as a treating center for injured Pokemons. It may not be as big as a Pokemon center but with Delia acting as a Nurse Joy and Samuel acting a doctor, the place won fifth place in Pokemon day care prize award.

While she swept the dust off the second floor hallway, she finally came to Ash's room which the boy barely uses at times. And since no one occupied the place for awhile, all that room could do was collect dust.

"Oh my" she said giggling, "Ash still never cleans his room. Teeheehee. That's my Ash. Never caring for his own personal hygiene" she then began whistling her favorite Pokemon tune which was surprisingly the same as Ash while sweeping and dusting the place not ignoring one piece of furniture in the room. No matter if it was the outside or the inside of the fan, nor the inner part of the cabinets, no dust escapes Delia Oak, the Dustinator…

After five minutes of cleaning, the mother looked around to see what she might've missed, "Hmm… let's see. Closet… check, table… check, ceilings… check… and then… huh?" while she swept the area one more time to tie up any loose ends, her broom suddenly made contact with a box which was neatly hidden under Ash's bed. "Hello, what's this?"

Having curiosity take over her, Delia pulled out a medium size cardboard box which seemed to be strangely heavy for its size. "Hmm… I wonder what could be in here" Ash had always kept things under his bed back in the early days, but most of time they would just be candies and snack food he would eat before going to bed.

But this time however… it was a box. But it wasn't just an ordinary box… it was a cardboard box that radiated a large amount of sadness and despair. Delia could feel a strong essence of dark energies running through this box and soon began to wonder why Ash would keep such an object under his bed. After a few moments of starring at the 'WARNING' sign, she quickly opened it up to find a large amount of objects in the plastic container.

The mother gasped and closed her mouth with her hand as she gaze upon many prizes and trinkets that the boy had earned during his Pokemon journey. The trophy on top was the final trophy Ash had ever earned during the Pokemon master league in the Indigo Plateau. It still shone brightly against the light like it had just been made yesterday. Under the trophy was a diploma stating that Ash was an official Pokemon Master to the world and to every man, woman and child. Delia smiled as those lively memories returned to her. "Why would Ash keep all this under his bed?" she asked herself.

Her question was soon answered when she picked up the next item. Beneath the diploma and the trophy, was a bunch of newspaper that would imbed the word fear back into her heart. "No… Ash… no you couldn't..."

Three newspapers, all neatly lined up in 'date of publish' order. All of them different in colors, with only one thing in common. There was a picture of Ash in all of them. All of them humiliating, discouraging, and ridiculous pictures. The mere sight of these photos tore the mother's heart into billions of pieces. She suppressed the tears pouring from her eyes, but no matter how strong she was, the words that were printed on these papers could not erase the guilt of the country.

She quickly put them away on the side and out of her sight and reach out for the final item at the base of the box.

At first she thought there was no more since the box was now hallow, but when she touched the bottom part of the box, she felt one last object that would destroy her soul completely…

The professor was walking through the hallway with a mug of tea in his hands. He was humming happily until he heard a silent sob coming from Ash's room. At first he believe it to be just the wind, but after hearing a 'thunk' sound, he knew that someone was there.

The old scientist opened the door letting the light in the hallway illuminate the dark bedroom. He looked around to see where the sobbing sound was coming from and when he saw Delia crying he drop his mug and rush over to her side, "Delia! Delia, what's wrong?!" he asked worryingly while holding onto his wife's shoulders. "Delia, control you…" before he could finish, his eyes caught sight of several objects that were scattered on the floor.

A trophy, a diploma, some newspaper… and a picture frame.

Samuel reached out for the frame that Delia dropped and gazed at it. With the help of the moon's light, he was able to see the picture clearly.

The man's heart sank like cannonball in the Atlantic Ocean. Fear crept into his skin as the picture become more and more clear to him. It was a drawing that Ash made when he was just three years old. It was made with crayons that showed little amount of talent but symbolized more than the critics could ever imagine. There was a drawing of Ash's house and of course, Ash and his mom. Then there was a picture of an old man wearing a white coat with a big wide smile on his face. Below each of the people in the picture were the names. Ash… mom and……dad.

Ash had considered the old man as his father…

If this picture was shown to him a few years ago, Samuel would've burst with happiness. But now… once he looked at the picture again… his heart… broke.

The name dad was scribbled off with dark permanent ink and the picture of the old man was cut with an X mark. Samuel couldn't bare to look at the picture a second later. He place it down and turned his attention back to his wife. "Delia… I…" he was going to say sorry… but the words didn't seem to come out. Instead, he hugged her and placed her face on his chest as she openly cried. "Forgive me Delia…" he manage to mutter out.

But those words only made Delia cry even more. "I hate you…" she said in a sobbing tone, "I hate you… I hate you… I hate you… I hate you!" she tried to say it louder but her voice kept holding back at her throat. "I hate you!" she tried to scream the last one… but it was no use.

That single phrase alone… was more than enough to break the man's soul in two.

In the end… the two of them just sat there together… holding each other tightly, never letting go. A long night has past… but this will probably be the first… of many more to come.


	12. Fight For The Heart

**Chapter 12: Fight For The Heart**

Both Ash and Anabel woke up at the same time in the lodge. The two of them yawned simotaniously as they went around doing their usual morning chores. Ash would cook breakfast while Anabel fed the Pokemons. After that, Ash would set up the table while Anabel clean up the Pokemon's nests. The two of them have been doing this routine for so long that it was already automatically before they even knew what they were doing.

By the time all the morning chores were done, they both sat on the table and began chowing down on some well earned food. Anabel was surprised how good Ash's cooking had become. At first she had her doubts that the boy his age would actually know how to cook, but after tasting his dishes now, she actually believe that the kid could work at a five star restaurant. "This is great Ash" she complimented the meal, "What is it?" Ash grew out a smile, "Just some old Kanto delicacy. I call it…… Salted Bean Soup" they both let out a small chuckle.

Suddenly, Anabel's phone began to ring. "Hello?" she answered, "Oh hey… how's everything going? (phone gibberish) WHAT?! But I thought I had those things signed last week (phone gibberish) Yes… ok ok… I understand…… I'll be there in awhile" she quickly hung up and lowered her head with an annoyed sad sigh.

"Something wrong?" Ash asked her. "Huh? Oh it's just my assistant" Anabel replied, "He lost the files he was supposed to pass this morning and now I have to go back and do the whole thing all over again" but then Ash offered, "I could help you if you want" but Anabel declined, "That's ok Ash. It's all just complicated signings and all. Hey I got an idea! Why don't you go to town for awhile? I bet there are a lot of things you haven't seen in Celadon city"

Ash wanted to decline but after a little look from his Pikachu, he had to submit. "Ok sure… why not?" he said cheerfully. "Great!" Anabel replied, "I'll give you one of my spare keys for the house. Don't lose it ok?" with a nod from the two, they immediately split up and went straight to their respective business.

**(In Celadon city downtown district)**

Ash walked around in town with his winter coat to keep him from the colds. He now wore a scarf that was long that it reached his elbow, some cute mittens, and a pair of brown boots. "Where do you want to go first Pikachu? (Pikachu!)" his little yellow friend stood on his head like a head piece that didn't want to go away. And after a few minutes of looking around, Pikachu pointed to a small convenience store that had several ketchup bottles on display. Ash would've laughed if he wanted too, but he only cracked out a chuckle, "Sorry Pikachu, but I think you had enough ketchup for one week hehehehe"

But just when they were about to head in to another shop, a sudden scream caught their attention, "He stole my purse!" yelled a woman. The crook that stole the purse was probably a late teen doing a daring act so that he could be in Santa's naughty list. "Somebody stop him!" the woman cried.

While Ash was just standing there oblivious to what was happening, the crook was suddenly heading his way with great speed. "Oh boy… not again" he muttered before pulling out his arm for a little stretch. Since the crook was so busy running for dear life, he didn't even see Ash's punch as it laid right in front of his face. WHAM! The crook got a broken nose and slammed right to the ground with a defining 'thunk' sound. With the crook unconscious, officer Jenny had no problem in capturing the idiot who dared break the law. "Thank you citizen" she saluted to Ash before throwing the crook to the other officers. "No problem" Ash replied lazily.

"Alright boys, take him to the station" yelled Jenny. With a defining salute from the other two officers, the car drove off disappearing into a corner. Taking the liberty of doing a good deed, Ash picked up the purse that the crook stole and gave it back to the owner with a smile on his face. "Here you go miss" the woman thanked him in six languages and hastily moved away to go on with her business.

"Pika pika pikachu!" (You should've let me shock him!) yelled Pikachu as he gave out several static from his cheeks. Ash gave out a weak laugh before moving on with his little furry friend. But before they were able to take three steps away from the crook scene, a large man with muscles built upon muscles stood in front of him like a tower looming over the boy. "Wahhh!" Ash yelped and fell to the ground as he tried to look at the man's face. "C…c… can I help you?" he asked frighteningly.

The man gave out a scowl which reached to the bottom of his chin, his eyes were as sharp and knives and his punches looked like they could knock a building down with just one hit. When the man looked closer at the boy, his frightening scowl turned into a cheery smile, "That was a good move kid" he said suddenly which caught the boy unprepared. "Where did you learn a move like that?"

"Huh?" Ash tilted his head in confusion to the man's unusual rambling. "Huh? Oh sorry, where are my manners nowadays. My name's Melvin. I own the gym just right across the Pokemon center" he handed Ash a call card, "You should come by sometime. If you're interested, I'll even give you a discount in using our facilities"

Then suddenly, the guy's name ring a though in Ash's head, "Melvin?" he said quietly, "Hey, are you Greta's cousin by any chance?" the man gave out a 'what' look, "Huh? You know Greta?" Ash flashed out a small smile, "Of course! She told me that she sent me to try out for your gym" Melvin simply let out a laugh, "Well I guess that changes everything then. Come on, I'll show you around the place!" Ash was going refuse at first, but then Melvin pulled his hand and dragged him all the way through the city with Pikachu still on his head before he could even speak.

**(Back in Pallet town)**

Gary had just finished packing up and locking the door to his house with defining click sound. He was now prepared to go on to another adventure. "Come on Umbreon, we got a lot of road to go through and we wouldn't want to miss the ferry now" he gestured to his black cat as it quickly leaped towards its master's side.

Just as they were crossing through professor Oak's house, Gary must've felt like he was shocked by one of Ash's Pikachu's thunder shock on the sight he was seeing. The professor himself was sweeping outside the house and from the looks of his eyes, it seems like the old man didn't get much sleep last night. Usually Gary would see Delia sweeping the dirt outside the house, but of all people, it had to be his old grandpa. Not taking the man into consideration, the boy quickened his pace slightly just so that he could avoid contact with that man.

"Gary?" but in the end, Samuel just had to call his name. "You're up pretty early today" Gary would've ignored the man and continued walking down the road, but something told him that he should stay and listen for awhile. "I'm going to Hoenn…" he said plainly, not even taking a look at his grand father, "I'll see you in a couple of weeks gramps" just before he could take another step forward, Samuel spoke up, "Oh wait Gary" the boy was now regretting on stopping on his tracks. "Delia told me that you were going to Varidian city today so she wanted to ask you if you can bring this to the Pokemon center there" the professor gestured to a small package of medicines.

"Fine…" Gary was more than happy to do a favor for his grandma in law. He quickly took the package and stuffed it into his rug sack which made it look a bit bulkier. With nothing left to say, Gary turned around and continued down the road to Varidian city. "Gary?" the professor called out which was now irritating the boy, "What's wrong? Don't I get a farewell hugs anymore?" he said cheerfully.

A short silence loomed the two of them as a cloud hovered over the house, blocking the sun's ray with its cotton like body. Gary always gave his old man a hug before he goes onto each adventure. But after he heard what happened, he felt disgusted to even think of being related to such a man.

"Why grandpa…?" he said finally. The professor gave a 'hmm' sound which sounded like a question rather than a statement, "Why did you do it? Can you tell me?"

"What are you talking about Gary?" asked the professor. Gary simply sighed as the anger in him grows steadily under control, "Why are you still with Ash's mom?" Samuel stiffened slightly as Gary had never asked him that before. "When I started on my journey gramps… I always admired you every step of the way. You were my role model… my hero" he raised his voice slightly on the last part, "When I was younger…… I always wanted to be just like you" he gazed back at his grandfather with eyes as cold as the dead, "But now…… when I look at you…… I just feel……" he wanted to tear the man into pieces with what he was going to say next. But Gary knew that it would only make things harder for Ash. "No… forget it…… see you later grandpa…" and with that, he left the scene, leaving behind a slightly saddened professor.

**(Celadon city workout gym)**

Melvin had dragged Ash halfway across the city with speed faster than a Arcanine. By the time they got there, Ash was practically worn out. "Well… here we are!" said Melvin with a cheery smile, "Welcome to the Silicas gym!" he pointed to the wide sign on top which was misspelled as Silicon rather than Silicas. "Ahehehehe… sorry about the sign, I was planning to have that thing fixed today"

When Ash went into the gym, he was actually surprised how different it was than he expected. Usually the gym would have a lot of workout gears and plenty of people lifting heavy weights, but the gym looked more like a dojo rather than a workout gym. There was an old traditional eastern style battle ring at the center and a lot of old fashion workout tools. And the other thing was noticeable…… was that the gym was empty. There wasn't a soul in sight except for Ash and Melvin and the janitor who was sweeping the floor of all the old dust the place was gathering.

"Um… no offense Melvin, but where is everybody?" Ash asked thinking that the place was still not yet open for the day. But Melvin had to ruin the moment, "We are everybody" he said cheerfully which made the boy face faulted to the floor. "WHAT!?" he yelled at him, "Than why did you bring me here in the first place?!" Melvin waved his hand defensively as he gave out a small sweat drop on his forehead, "Hey, easy there. Don't worry, this place will be full before you even know it" just when he finished his sentence, the door bell (as in a real bell not one of those techno bells) rang. "Oh here she is" Melvin said as he jerked himself towards the door.

"Hey there Melvin" said Greta in her usual tone. "Hey there Greta, you're here early. Good!" the two cousins laughed at each other until Greta spotted a familiar boy behind him, "Hmm?" the moment she noticed it was Ash, she jolted right to him, "Ash?! Is that you?"

"Hey there Greta (pika pika!)" greeted Ash with his Pikachu, "I'm glad you took my offer after all" the black belt replied with a smile on her face. "So are you here to work out? Or do you want to have a little match competition?"

"Match competition?" Ash said confused. Melvin then came by to explain what she meant, "Yeah, usually once a week when Greta is here, we usually hold a match competition with the customers. The winner gets the pot money and a two week free usage of our facility" Ash gave out an 'oh' sound which meant that he understood…… at least he understood some part of it.

"Well I'm off to open up. You'd better get ready Greta" the Arena Tycoon mistress gave out a nod and slung her bag to the sides.

A few minutes after Melvin put the open sign up, a flood of men and women came rushing through the door like a horde o Tauros. "Whoa!!!" Ash jolted away from the crowd as they surrounded Greta with pen and papers on hand.

"Greta, spar with me!" said one

"No! Greta, spar with me!" said another, "Greta, are you free this afternoon?"

"Greta, can I have your autograph?!" a whole crowd of masculine men were asking the girl out as if she was some sort of celebrity.

Ash was barely able to crawl out of the mass hunk of irons as he finally made it to the counter where Melvin was grinning happily. "What's with all of them?" Ash asked, "Huh? Oh you mean Greta? Well as you can see, she's kind of popular around here with everyone. A lot of people tried to ask her out but as you can see… she's only interested in strong men"

"So she must have a lot of fans huh?" Ash giggled slightly along with his half squished Pikachu. "Not really" Melvin replied, "That's why a lot of people here are trying to get stronger so that they could have a chance with her"

Just when Melvin was still explaining the rough details to the boy, a bunch of girls about Greta's age rushed through the front door all in black belts. "Greta!" said the leader of the gang. "I demand a rematch this instance!" the entire crowd quickly silenced as Greta gave out a smirk.

Ash gave out another confused face which Melvin decided to clean up, "That's Paulina, Greta's arch rival. She comes here every time visits and demands a fight with her" Melvin explained. Paulina had red hair that stretched into towards her shoulder and branded into a small ponytail. She as physically fit just like Greta, but looked as if she just joined the army boot camp. She wore a red battle robe garment and traditional sandals which looked pretty matching for her attitude.

"She must be very good then" Ash inquired which the man only giggled in reply, "Not really. The girl can't even lay a finger on Greta. This battle will be over before you know it"

It was then, Greta grew out a smirk, "I accept your challenge!" and before Ash knew it, the two girls were already on the ring preparing to duel it out to the finish.

"Watch this…" Melvin said to Ash, "She'll finish her off with three moves" the whole crowd surrounded the battlefield with great anticipation. Some were already making bets on who would win and who would lose. Some thought that Greta would win again for sure but then the others thought that this might be the day that Paulina completes her revenge.

"Hey Melvin!" Greta called out, "Do you mind being the referee for this match?" the man gave out a smile and quickly got onto the ring with two flags on his hands. "This is a match between Arena Tycoon Greta and the challenger Paulina! The first one who falls to the ground in any way but their feet or goes out of the ring is considered the defeated. Fighters, are you ready?" Melvin looked at both sides as they give out their nod.

Greta's face consisted of a smirk and a calm look that could really piss you off, but Paulina's face consisted of nothing but pure anger and rivalry. This made Ash remember the times about him and Gary when they were still kids.

"BEGIN!" the crowd began to cheer almost instantly after the flag went down signaling the beginning of the match. Paulina charged out first using her fists and legs as her main assortment of weapons. But Greta, who was a master of many martial arts, dodged them skillfully like a true professional. The first kick that Paulina gave was ducked. The second move the red head made was a side punch which Greta blocked quite easily. The third move that Paulina made was another punch that was meant to get the girl off guard.

"Gotcha!" Paulina said as she reached out for Greta's black battle robes. But that was her biggest mistake of all. Greta knew that the girl would rush things and make her fall fast before she could counter, so instead of dodging it, she decided to attack a punch on shoulder (ouch!) then a jab on the stomach (ooofff!) and when the red head was off balance, Greta pulled HER robes and tossed her out of the ring with one good whooze!

BAM! Paulina's butt met against the hard wooden floor making her groan in pain. Seeing that victory was certain, Melvin waved up the flag, "Paulina I out of the ring! The victory goes to Greta!" half the crowd yelled, "YES I'm rich!" while the other half said, ""NO I lost all my money!"

When Paulina's gang went to pick up their boss, the red head shrugged them away, "I want another rematch!" she demanded which was only returned with an annoyed glare by the Arena Tycoon mistress, "Again?" she said, "May be some other time Paulina, when you get better" she then turned to the crowd, "Alright, who here wants to spar with me? Come on raise your hands!" everyone in the room began raising their hands and saying something intelligible.

"Wow…" was all that Ash could say when he saw the match.

"Pretty impressive huh?" said Melvin with a grin. He was holding a large amount of money on his hand flapping them to make them look like a fan. "Yeah…" Ash replied still a bit awed by the fight, "I can't believe how strong she really is" Melvin laughed, "You got that right kid! There's not a man on earth that could possibly take on the Arena Tycoon!" he slapped Ash's back forgetting his own strength making the boy fall onto the arena.

Greta noticed this and immediately pointed his finger at him, "Ah it looks like we have ourselves a volunteer!" she smirked, "Come on Ash, let's see how strong you really are"

The boy quickly panicked and waved his hand refusingly, "Huh wait! No, I uh… I don't I can…!" but Greta only gave him a confused look, "Oh… you're right!" she jolted, "You can't fight in those clothes. Melvin!" she turned to her cousin, "Can you suit him up for me?" the man gave out a smile and nodded his head. Ash began to sweat drop like bullets as his face paled like a piece of paper. The next thing the boy knew, he was being dragged by Melvin to the changing room.

"Alright kid, there should be some spare battle robes at the back. You can try them on and meet me back on the field in ten minutes. Come on chop chop!" Melvin slammed the door behind him and quickly began making another set of bets.

Ash sighed in defeat along with his Pikachu. He didn't even get a chance to write his 'will' nor get his health insurance or something like that. At least then his death would have some meaning. "Well… I guess we don't have much of a choice Pikachu (pikapi…)" he then began rushing through cabinets to see which one would fit him. Surprisingly for Ash, all the battle garbs there were just either too big or WAY too big for him. The kid could barely fit in the smallest size they had to offer.

But then, something caught his eyes. A black and white battle garb similar to Greta's except that it was meant for a man rather that a girl. It was hanging oddly at the back of the room hidden behind several piles of other clothes. Seeing that it was the only suitable thing to wear, Ash quickly changed into the battle garb and prepared himself for a fight of his life.

The only question now is: How many bones is he gonna break when he gets out of there?

By the time he came out, Greta couldn't help but hold a chuckle in her throat. She knew that the boy would have to pick that battle garb since it was the only size that would fit him. "Hey kid, you looking pretty good" said Melvin as he slapped Ash's back even harder than before. He then turned up to whisper to the boy's ear, "Alright listen up. If you break more than ten bones in your body, you get a discount in the central hospital" Ash gave out a sweat drop as the guy wasn't much of a supporter to him. "Thanks a lot Melvin" the boy replied irritatingly.

As Ash walked into the ring, Melvin hastily pocketed his cash prize and prepared to referee the next battle. "Alright everyone quiet down quiet down!" he gestured to the crowd which silenced them immediately, "This is the second match of the day. With the Arena Tycoon mistress Greta and……" he looked at the boy puzzlingly, "Uh… that reminds me, I never got your name kid" Ash face faulted along with his Pikachu. "It's Ash!" the boy replied annoyed beyond all reasons, "Hehehehehe… And the new kid Ash!" with his flagged raised, both contestant got into their battle stances. "The rules are same as before. If you fall on the ground or step out of the ring, you are considered defeated"

"Fighters… are you ready?!" Melvin remarked as he looked at both of them. Greta still retained her usual smirk and calm face, but Ash contained something that no fighter has seen before. His face was… calm… collective and yet at the same time it showed some signs of determination. It scared Melvin a little bit, but he knew that Greta would win for sure.

On the side line near the benches, Paulina was sitting with an annoyed look on her face surrounded by her female gang. She wanted Greta to end the fight quickly so that she could have rematch again soon.

"BEGIN!" Melvin waved the flag and quickly backed away as the killing intent grew larger by the moment. Surprisingly for everyone, Ash didn't charge at all. He just stood there with an expressionless face imprinted on him.

Greta's frown disappeared as ten seconds passed by with no movement at all. She was patient enough to wait for the challenger to attack first but now that Ash didn't attack her immediately, she was growing a bit impatient. Taking his strength into consideration, the blonde black belter charged up and lodged a fist to the boy, which he skillfully dodged out of the with only two steps.

Greta saw this and began dishing out punches and kicks in a rapid speed. But Ash was not one who would fall so easily. With his lightning fast reflexes, he was able to dodge them without touching Greta even once. Everyone's jaws dropped to the ground as they saw how their role model was having a hard time taking Ash down. Paulina noticed the match and immediately became intrigued with the fight.

With Ash dodging and avoiding all physical contacts with the blonde martial artist master, he discovered all of her flaws and weaknesses that Greta had in her form. Just by observing her movement, Ash could see that her most fatal mistake was her synchronization. Her attacks and speed becomes uneven after the first few rounds. When her jabs go up, her speed slows, making her legs vulnerable to a swiping move, and when her legs pulls in, her torso becomes a heartbreaking target for anyone who could see through speed.

When Ash finally had enough, he caught Greta's feet as it nearly struck against his head. Both the blonde fighter and the crowd gasped as Greta became temporarily defenseless. Ash saw this and began counterattacking her with jabs of his own. His speed and rhythm of battle flowed freely like he dancing to an invisible beat of a silent music. It was then Greta noticed that the boy was humming his favorite Pokemon theme song. Unable to cope with the music, Greta faltered back, withdrawing with every punch the boy gave out. It was like he could read her every movement or something like that.

Just when Ash saw a clear opening, he grabbed Greta's battle garb by the collar and began his overhead toss. But just when victory was about to become his, the pain on his ankle that he got from saving a child yesterday shot back, making him lose balance, thus making them both fall on each other. Greta fell first and on top of her was Ash.

Paulina's eyes widened considerably as she just witness a tie between her arch rival and the new kid. Melvin couldn't believe it either. Her cousin, known to be the undefeatable champion Arena Tycoon was tied with a kid probably two years younger than her. "Uh ah…"

"Are you alright Greta" Ash asked still suffering from the pain on his ankle. The blonde black belt blushed in a slight color of pink as the boy's face was so close to hers. "Uh… yeah… I'm fine" she replied shyly. Their bodies were pressed along each other making them look like they were in a love making position. But after taking their position into consideration, Ash moved away from the girl and shoved himself into a sitting stance. "Ahhhhccckk!" he held his ankle as it shot out another jolt of pain into his feet.

Greta noticed this and quickly got to him, "Ash, are you hurt?" she asked worryingly, "Huh? Oh no its nothing. I hurt my ankle yesterday I tripped hehehe ackk!" he clenched his ankle even tighter as it continued to ache. "Come on, I'll bring you to the Pokemon center. They'll patch up" Greta slung Ash's hand onto her shoulder and hastily made her way towards the Pokemon center across the street leaving behind an annoyed but yet amazed Paulina and a poor Melvin who lost all of his money.

**(The Battle Tower)**

Anabel had just finished signing all the papers her assistant lost a couple of hours ago. Since she still had a lot more work to do, she could only stare outside her window and think what Ash could be doing right now. She imagined him cooking dinner when she returned. Whenever he cooks, it would always be something new or something different than before. And every time she tasted it, she would enjoy the flavor ten times over and over again.

"Anabel?" her assistant called out, "Some files from the head office just arrived ma'am" the Salon Battle Maiden sighed in defeat.

This was gonna be a long afternoon…

**(Back in Celadon city Pokemon center)**

Nurse Joy had just finished in treating Ash's bad ankle with some fresh band-aids. Although the won't be moving around properly for awhile, it hell beats up being cooped up in a house all day long. "There you go Ash. Good as new" said the pink haired nurse as she did her usual check up, "All you need is a lot of rest and your ankle will be back in mint condition" when Nurse Joy left the young boy alone with Greta, the girl gave out a deep blush as she couldn't stand to look at his face.

"Well, it looks like I won't be going around much" said Ash as he limped slowly towards the door. When Greta saw how he was walking, she quickly offered her hand to rush him out of the Pokemon center.

They both arrived in the lobby taking a seat on separate couches. "Thanks Greta" Ash appreciated her help as he made himself comfortable. "I guess I must've overdid it with that last throw huh?" the blonde simply smiled back with her reply, "You should've told me that you had an injury Ash. Otherwise it could've been very serious" the boy smiled back apologetically as he began to realize that ever since he came here, he's only been getting him hurt.

First the land slide, then the intruder that attacked Anabel, after that the Frontier Brain bashing him up and…… well you know the rest.

"Sorry about that…" Ash replied rubbing the back of his head, "It's just that I was in the moment that I completely forgot about it" just when he finished, his stomach began to growl signaling that it was time for lunch. Both Greta and Nurse Joy giggled at the sound, "Well since your leg isn't any good, why don't we go have something to eat? There's a nice restaurant next door and their food is terrific" Ash quickly accepted the offer and gestured her to him up.

As they left the Pokemon center together, they didn't know that they were being followed by Paulina and her gang along with some of the boys from the gym and Melvin.

"That kid's walking away with Greta!" muttered one of the masculine men, "Look! They're walking into the restaurant!" said another with binoculars.

"Who is that kid with him?" asked Paulina, "Dunno" said one of her gang members, "I've never seen him in town before. He could just be a visitor or a distant relative"

But the boys quickly clenched their fists as if they were going to war, "Well whoever he is. He ain't getting miss Greta from us without a fight!" the others quickly agree with a silent nod.

Well one thing as for sure…… Ash was going to a long day waiting for him.


End file.
